


A Stream of Stars

by vivitoru



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Canon, Clerith, F/M, Romance, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 62,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24908674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivitoru/pseuds/vivitoru
Summary: Defeating fate has set our heroes up on an unexpected adventure through familiar places in a world that has been touched anew. For a certain flower girl and her bodyguard, a start of a second chance is now within reach.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 210
Kudos: 316





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!
> 
> It’s been more than a decade since I last wrote something but after the Remake, there was no way I would be able to wait for the second part without going crazy (I’ve been thinking nonstop about it ever since I finished the game T-T).
> 
> This fanfic is my way of coping with the excruciating wait for the subsequent games. This fic will be unabashedly Clerith, my favorite pairing in video game history, and is my take on what could happen after the Midgar escape in the Remake.
> 
> Big thanks to my wife (ashihime) for helping proofread and edit my long-winded rambles and making it a readable story. Hopefully I can drag her out of the Samurai Jack/Jashi fandom someday to write some Clerith on the side.
> 
> Also big thanks to the FF7 fandom, from artists and writers to regular fans who continue to spread the love for that world and characters and all the fascinating theories that people have come up with throughout all this time and beyond.
> 
> Finally, big thanks to the creators of the game and everyone who worked and are still working on it to bring us the best experience possible. Thank you for bringing us back to that world and having us meet our dear old friends again.
> 
> Editor/Wife Note: If there are any errors, I'll rectify them at a later time.

What started as light, refreshing rain—which one could even call pleasant—quickly turned into heavy downpour.

It was certainly not the kind of weather to be out in the wilderness, let alone without supplies or a clean change of clothes, but that was exactly what the group found themselves in.

Barret cursed at the uncooperative sky as he hurried towards a cliffside in search of shelter. The large man kept complaining about the party’s rotten luck of being out in the barren wastelands surrounding Midgar, especially after their climatic battle against the whispers and a certain silver-haired swordsman.

“Never thought I’d miss that goddamn pizza that fast.”

He glanced at the bundle of fur nestled against the rocky wall, the resident four-legged member of their ragtag group. Barret’s spirit buoyed slightly upon noticing he wasn’t the only one inconvenienced by the pouring rain.

To say Red XIII was annoyed at their predicament was an understatement, as there was nothing he hated more than getting his coat of red fur soaked with water and mud. That and being bossed around like a pup. Being called a lab rat dog was no better too, something the hulking man beside him was guilty of doing a few short hours ago.

Barret removed his sleeveless jacket, wringing the article as he took the spot next to Red XIII. His attention turned to the fiery tail of his canine companion and he raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, what happens if the flame goes out?”

Red XIII glared in response, discouraging the large busybody from further inquiry.

“I know I kept asking for a shower but…” Tifa chimed in, squeezing the length of her raven hair in an effort to remove the excess water. 

“Not really what I had in mind.” The slender fighter grumbled to herself as she removed her drenched tank top. She winced as she studied the now translucent garment. _Thank god for black sports bras._ She mused as she proceeded to twist it dry.

She settled down next to Barret’s empty side and started scanning their surroundings. She quickly noticed two people were missing.

“Where are Cloud and Aerith?”

“Over there.”

Tifa brushed away the wet bangs from her eyes, following the direction Barret was pointing to.There, she found the last two members of their group at a distance, still standing out in the rain.

“What are they doing?”

Barret shrugged.

“No idea.”

Tifa’s gaze lingered on the blonde spiky-haired Soldier. _No, Ex-Soldier_ —she corrected herself, before her eyes trailed over to the brightly-clad woman standing behind him. 

“Aerith!” She called out to her friend, but to no avail as the rain drowned out her voice.

“She probably has a lot on her mind, after all that’s happened in the last few hours.”

Truth to be told, they all did.

* * *

“You okay?”

The blond mercenary walked over to Aerith, who was still lost in thought. He waited for a reply and was quickly unnerved by the silence that continued to stretch from her.

“Aerith?”

He tapped her shoulder, causing the brunette to break from her reverie with a slight jump.

Facing him properly, she huffed in fake outrage.

“Don’t surprise a young maiden like that!”

Cloud sighed, motioning his head to where their companions were.

“Come on, before you catch a cold.”

He started heading towards the rest of the group, slowing his pace as he noticed Aerith lagging as she trailed behind him.

She was glancing over her shoulder, one last time, at the steel city they were leaving behind.

* * *

Tifa greeted the pair as they joined them in their makeshift shelter. She cast a worried frown at Aerith, noticing the lack of spark in the flower girl’s response or rather none at all.

“Aerith, are you okay?” 

Aerith quickly turned to face her, a smile plastered on as she cocked her head to the side.  
  
“Sorry, you were saying?”

Tifa studied her friend, who raised both eyebrows in return. Something was troubling her, that was for certain. She glanced over to Cloud for answers but found his attention solely focused on Aerith.

Returning her attention back to Aerith, Tifa noticed, upon closer inspection that the mage’s light sundress had also become translucent from the rain, leaving the outline of her undergarment visible through the thin fabric. 

She immediately moved behind Cloud, slapping a hand over his eyes in an effort to protect her friend’s dignity. 

“Tifa! What’s wrong with”—

She shushed the blond before alerting Aerith about her wardrobe through her ruby eyes and glaring at Barret when he tried to look over in confusion. It took a few moments for Aerith to understand the message conveyed in Tifa’s worried face and promptly zipped her red jacket up.

She mouthed the other woman her thanks.

* * *

The group went over their next plan of action as they waited for the rain to subside. All five rapidly agreed to venture over to the neighboring city of Kalm.

Which route to follow was a point for debate and two opposing sides formed. Four against one. One was adamant on following the road from Midgar straight to Kalm, arguing it would be the fastest route, while the rest advocated laying low in the wasteland to avoid potential confrontation from Shinra patrols.

“You have any idea how much faster we’ll reach Kalm just by simply following that blasted road?”

“But Barret, Cloud has a point...”

The gunman grunted at Tifa. Of course he himself knew that avoiding the main road was the safest path. Albeit, a longer one. He was not completely stupid despite what the Ex-Soldier seemed to think, but he absolutely did not want a repeat of the staircase scenario from Shinra HQ. He would brave through any hell than reliving that nightmare. Besides, there was no use pussyfooting around when they were more than capable of taking a squadron or two. He would not mind the action actually.

“You wanna get caught by Shinra?” Cloud snapped at Barret. “Be my guest then!”

Cloud did not bother waiting for the large man’s retaliation and began walking _away_ from the road proper that laid up ahead. There was no point arguing with the stubborn Avalanche leader.

Under normal circumstances, Cloud would admit there was no point in forgoing a shortcut if it saved time and if was not as though they would be helpless against a number of enemies.

Not this time however, as he had other priorities in mind, one of which involved safeguarding a certain Ancient—correction, _Cetra,_ from falling back into Shinra’s hands.

Barret was about to let Cloud have it for walking away but was promptly reprimanded by Tifa.

Red XIII followed after Cloud without complaint, and the women did as well. The outcome had already been decided by the majority at the beginning anyway.

Still, a disgruntled Barret had to curse his luck. 

* * *

The party walked on in relative silence, occasionally breaking it to discuss their next move. One person, however, remained quiet throughout their journey.

He may have only known her for three days, but he knew, without a doubt, that Aerith was not the reserved type of person. Thus, making this uncharacteristic behavior all the more concerning for him. Even her own mother described her as a chatterbox a day prior, a description he would corroborate to anyone who asked.

Maybe she was just tired as anybody else would be given recent events.

 _Yeah, right…_ For some reason, Cloud felt he needed to get to the bottom of what was troubling her.

He looked up at the rapidly darkening sky, deciding that now would be a good time as any to set up camp for the night. He scanned their surroundings before pointing towards a big rock that sat next to a riverbed.

“Let’s stay there for the night.”

“I agree, we all could use some rest.” said Tifa, rubbing one of her shoulders to relieve some of the stiffness as she followed the blond, Red XIII in tow.

A cry of relief was heard in the short distance where Barret was struggling to keep up the pace.

“About time!”

A still eerily silent Aerith was far behind the Avalanche leader, a detail that did not go unnoticed by Cloud. He stared at the pensive Cetra as she trudged along.

Unlike the larger man before her, the young woman showed no signs of fatigue. In spite of what he had previously hoped, it became clear to Cloud that physical exhaustion was not the issue that was daunting her. 

As soon as everyone gathered together, Red XIII stretched himself up, volunteering himself for dinner duty.

“I’ll hunt something for tonight’s supper.”

His four human allies looked to one another with uncertainty. Despite the appearance of their canine companion, his speech pattern betrayed an intellect far above that of a regular human.

So surely he had a more refined palate? At least they hoped so.

Red XIII let out an annoyed sigh at the suspicion in his companions’ eyes.

“I guarantee you, doom rats are more delicious than they look. You should give them a try.”

As Red XIII predicted, their reaction to the idea of consuming rodent meat was met with little fanfare, much to his own amusement.

“I apologize. Were you expecting a full course meal out in the wilderness tonight?”

Cloud held his hands up in defeat. “ _Fine._ You handle the food.”

Red XIII threw the blond a smirk before skulking off in search of dinner, of whatever creature it may be.

Cloud turned to Tifa.

“Tifa, can you take care of the firewood?”

She nodded. “By myself?”

Cloud jerked his head in Barret’s direction, making sure to speak loudly enough for him to hear. “Can’t count on this one to do it.”

At the remark, Barret straightened himself up and puffed out his chest.

“Come on, Tifa! let’s show Mr. Ex-Soldier prick what Avalanche is made of!”

Tifa merely shrugged before following Barret’s lead.

“What do you want me to help with?”

For the first time in what felt like an eternity to him, Aerith finally broke her silence. She tilted her head to the side while gifting whom she now considered her full-time bodyguard a signature smile of hers.

“Let’s check other places for anything useful.” Cloud said, pointing to several patches of trees in the distance.

Aerith nodded before heading off towards one of them. She was only able to take a couple of steps forward when a gloved hand encircled her wrist, effectively stopping her in her tracks.

“Together.” Cloud said with authority, which took Aerith by surprise.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Normally, Aerith would have gleefully taken him up on his offer. Heck, she would have definitely been the first one to propose his suggestion. Circumstances were anything but normal, however, as in the span of one day, she went from knowing most of what was destined to happen for the majority of her life to having absolutely no clue what the future had in store.

Aerith looked to her bodyguard and found him holding her gaze, furthering her surprise.

Could this already be part of the rippling effects of destroying predetermined fate?

She stared into his unwavering mako eyes, a trademark of any Soldier that most people found disturbing. 

Not to her.

Perhaps it was the softness visible in the swirls of blue and green that betrayed their owner’s hardened facade that enthralled her. Her mind raced as she tried to decipher the current emotions within them.

Was it worry? 

Confusion? 

Fondness? 

A mixture of all three? 

Aerith kept their gazes locked, oblivious to the fact he was doing the exact same, searching for answers in her green eyes, peering in them to discover what was weighing on her mind.

However, Cloud quickly reached a stalemate as he was never good at reading people’s thoughts in the first place. So they continued staring at each other for an awkwardly long time and neither seemed to want to be the first to break contact.

Aerith felt her head throb, her mind plagued with so many questions. Why was he not saying anything? When did he become so assertive? What happened to the shy young man she had met a few days ago? 

Why was he making it even more difficult to keep her distance from him this time around?

She tried to gather the will to tear her eyes away from his face. But Cloud beat her to it. As if reading her inner turmoil, he broke eye contact and looked over his shoulder in the direction of where she originally intended to go. 

“Let’s go.” He said, readjusting the sword strapped to his back.

The two started on their way to the trees, walking side by side.

“So what are we looking for exactly?” Aerith was curious as to what her bodyguard would deem useful. She had an inkling wild flowers did not rank high on his list, much to her chagrin.

“Medicinal herbs, roots, aromatic plants, that kind of stuff I guess.”

“Do you even know anything about them?”

“A bit yeah.”

Aerith narrowed her eyes at the blond, not believing him.

“Really? You didn’t seem to back in Sector 5.”

Cloud just shrugged.

“Didn’t need to get too involved with you there.”

Aerith playfully punched his arm, a gesture that earned her one Cloud’s rare half-smiles, the barely-noticeable ones.

“You jerk! Letting me do all the work!”

“I’m your bodyguard, remember? Never signed up to be your errand boy.”

“Says the guy who went flower picking for”—

Aerith squeaked as he poked her side. Then, she stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief and mouth agape at what had transpired.

Cloud Strife, the embodiment of social awkwardness, had just poked her.

Aerith furrowed her brows, examining the alien creature currently impersonating her bodyguard.

“Who. Are. _You?_ ”

The hint of red creeping up on his face did not stop her from asking more questions.

“What did you do to Cloud? When did you switch places? Was it when we passed the portal?”

The blond looked away, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Is it that hard to believe I can be friendly too…?”

From his words, Aerith could not help and imagine a “friendlier” image of him. 

_Heya, I’m Cloud Strife, Ex-Soldier, nice to meet ya!_

She pursed her lips and tried to stifle a laugh. Truly, she did…but to no avail.

The mental image she had conjured was too much for the flower girl and she burst out laughing. The sheer absurdity of a bubbly Ex-Soldier, asking people how their day was, and joking freely with them with that gigantic sword strapped to his back, with maybe a pink ribbon decorating the hilt—

Cloud cleared his throat, stopping her imagination from running any wilder.

Despite his disapproving frown, a part of him was glad to finally hear her laughter, even if it was at his expense. He had to admit though, he somehow did not mind being made fun of as much as he would have a few days ago.

“Told you to stop acting like you know me.”

His annoyed mumbling brought the lingering giggles to a halt. For now at least.

Aerith took deep breaths as she calmed herself back down before turning her attention back to her embarrassed bodyguard. It felt as though all her worries about whatever outcome their now-unexpected journey would lead to faded away, and she could now just focus on his company. 

She made a small skip ahead before turning to him, walking backwards as she continued their conversation. “So tell me more about your supposed knowledge of medicinal plants.”

Cloud sighed as he grabbed her wrist, preventing his employer from backing into one of the surrounding trees.

“Stop giving me more work.”

She rolled her eyes. “Hello? Cetra heritage remember? I talk to trees in my sleep.”

He flashed her a smirk, a rare sight, though less so than the previous half-smile but still noteworthy enough— _still_ _counts as a win._

“Sure you do.” He said.

She stuck her tongue out before getting back to the topic at hand.

“Backstory. _Now._ ”


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud slowed down, unsure on how to begin. He had brought it upon himself since he was the one who suggested combing for herbs. The truth was, just like when she had asked about his bond with Tifa, he was not entirely sure with what to answer, his memories patchy and fragmented.

 _Soldier training—_ that was his usual go-to when his memory refused to cooperate, which happened a bit too frequently to his liking.

He knew that this time though it would not be enough. Not for Aerith.

Cloud recalled some bits and flashes of his younger self following his mother as they ventured out of the village to gather medicinal plants that grew in the wilderness to sell at the local store. That was how they earned their living for as far as he could remember. He tried to pinpoint their favorite gathering spot in his head, to envision the plant she used to prepare their usual meals...

But no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts would swerve back to that fateful night. His home engulfed in flames against a starlit sky.

Aerith’s smile dropped when she noticed his mako eyes losing focus and his hand drawing to the side of his head, a gesture she had unfortunately become all too familiar with.

She grabbed his hand before he could bring it to his temple and bent forward to enter his field of vision.

“Cloud, it’s okay. Think of something else.”

Aerith gave his hand another squeeze, hoping to distract him from his dark thoughts while she inwardly cursed herself for triggering another episode. She should have known better by now.

“Don’t rush, that story can wait for another time.”

She did not know if there was any weight behind her claim. Aerith wanted to believe that they would have more than enough time to sort out his problems with the Arbiter of Fate now defeated. But seeing Cloud still continue to suffer from headaches made her doubtful again.

“Focus on me, Cloud.” Although she had meant to sound reassuring, she could not hide the pleading tone in her voice. Nevertheless, her words appeared to finally reach him and she let out a sigh of relief. She felt his hand relax and his breathing slowly returning to normal as his eyes regained their focus.

She held his gaze for a few more seconds, making sure he was completely fine before letting go of his hand. But before she could fully retract, he reached out for her wrist once more, his grasp firm but gentle, preventing her from putting distance between them.

“Sorry about that… I just…”

Aerith smiled as she nodded in understanding.

Cloud nodded back, loosening his grip before sliding his gloved hand down her arm, enjoying the feel of her skin despite the thick fabric. He tensed when he came upon a raised bump in an area normally concealed by her bracelets. He looked down, scrutinizing the obvious needle mark he had just uncovered.

Aerith cupped his face with her free hand, gently lifting it up to hers.

“It’s old, don’t worry about it.”

It was almost too easy to just take her smile at face value and drop the issue altogether. To just believe her words completely. It definitely would have been the easier choice, given his track record. He was not the type to push an issue with other people after all.

Except now, he just couldn’t.

Cloud had learned enough in the past two days to know there was something more hiding beneath Aerith’s every smile. Looking back, he had always brushed aside his doubts, but after hearing Aerith’s own mother describe her daughter’s past in detail, he began to reevaluate what little he knew about her. 

He remembered the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when she had told the party she wanted to do everything in her power to help them all, to help the Planet. He had waited anxiously for her to continue, to follow up on her claims with her own inclusion. He recalled how uncharacteristically distraught he was when she made no mention of her own personal well-being. 

Cloud was scared. He was worried for her, this Cetra, who despite her upbeat personality and antics was selfless to a fault. A virtue of which carried its own disadvantages. It made him concerned for her safety as she had already shown, time and again, a tendency for recklessness when it suited her, something he did not approve of. If he turned a blind eye every time she dismissed things about herself, he knew that somewhere down the line, he would come to regret it. 

Cloud grabbed hold of both of her arms, eliciting a gasp from the young woman and began running his hands up and down the length of her arms, uncovering for himself more proof of her past maltreatment at the hands of a deranged lunatic.

Convinced there was more, he gently grabbed the collar of her red jacket and started pulling it down, scrutinizing every centimeter of skin he slowly uncovered.

“Cloud…” Aerith lifted his face once more with both hands, dispelling his behavior. “Nothing happened. I’m fine, I promise.”

She flashed him another one of her reassuring smiles, but he just could no longer bring himself to believe in it anymore. Still, Cloud obeyed and reluctantly let go of her jacket, somewhat relieved at having found no sign of bruises underneath. He knew it was a sorry consolation though given her history. 

Instead of dropping the subject though, he pointed at her bangles that covered up his initial findings. “What about that then?”

His lips were pressed in a hard line as he cast Aerith a stern gaze, he took hold of her wrist once more while waiting for her explanation.

“As I said, these are old. No need to worry.”

Cloud found himself once again looking for answers in her emerald-green eyes that stared back at him unflinchingly. He wanted to believe her, but he had seen in the Corneo’s mansion how good of a liar she could be when circumstances demanded it.

“Why haven’t they healed then?”

Surely, with enough cure materia, her scars would have disappeared already, especially given her natural affinity for magic, witnessed by everyone in the group firsthand.

Aerith looked down, the corner of her lips curving up ever so slightly to form a melancholic smile. 

“They remind me of my mom.”

Cloud was immediately taken aback by the revelation. A family heirloom, he could understand... but this?

“It’s stupid really...” Aerith followed up, conscious of how ridiculous she must sound. 

“Everyday they would come to pick her up to…well...experiment...” She trailed off, thinking back on how much she had prayed everyday to not have to hear the dreaded footsteps outside their room, which was followed by the hiss of their door being opened.

She recalled her mother’s face, the pain and exhaustion visibly ruining her otherwise ethereally beautiful features every night when they brought her back from a grueling day of unspeakable experiments. 

In her reminiscing, Aerith failed to notice her companion’s grip tightening around her wrist. 

“Sometimes, in the beginning…they would pick me too…” 

Aerith’s revelation caused Cloud to see red, his blood boiling at the thought of everything the woman he had resolved to protect had to go through together with her biological mother.

“After the testing…Mom…she would use what strength she had left to heal my wounds.”

Aerith recalled the faint warmth coming from Ifalna’s hands, that mended the flesh marred with numerous needle marks while soothing the throbbing in her little wrists. The full blooded Cetra would use what little innate magic she could spare to treat her beloved daughter’s pain while ignoring her own, and taking the time to regale her bedtime stories of a better life despite her exhaustion.

Aerith remembered the appeasing tone her mom would adopt to calm her down. She remembered her pale arms cradling her despite all color having been drained from them. She remembered the scent of her hair and being lulled to sleep in her embrace while listening to the reassuring sound of her heartbeat.

_Her skin, her hair, her heart…her organs…every fragment of her bones..._

The words of Hojo slithered in, tainting her precious memories, which was all Aerith had left of her mother. 

“Mom… she would…sh-she was…” Aerith’s voice cracked as she tried her hardest to fight back the tears she had been withholding all this time in order to avoid giving that sicko the pleasure of seeing her break down. 

Cloud tried not to give in to his urge to look away, ashamed of having brought up unpleasant memories to the surface. A part of him wished he just kept his mouth shut and backed away. Now, he was not sure how he could be of any comfort. But he knew he had to try.

Aerith shivered as she felt two strong arms circle around her, pulling her into a hesitant embrace. For a moment, she just stood still. Then, she slowly returned his gesture, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his bare shoulder. 

They stayed that way for a while, with Cloud making sure his hold was steady without hurting the person in his arms this time around. Aerith was also trying to keep her composure from the overwhelming range of emotions she was experiencing all at once.

The embrace lasted for a lengthy moment, both of them content to be in each other’s warmth. Somehow, it just felt right.

Cloud reluctantly broke away before gently cupping the side of her face, his fingers trailing down to until they found her chin and tilted it up. There were many things he wanted to say and many more he wanted to do. Instead, he just smiled.

“Thanks for telling me.”

Aerith repaid him with a smile of her own. A genuine one.

Cloud took a deep breath before leading her to a tall tree. He unfastened his sword, planting it down the muddy ground before taking a seat on one of the large exposed roots. He wrapped an arm around one raised knee, a habit of his, before inviting the flower girl to take the spot next to him. He waited after she settled down to put his knee down and rest his elbows on his thighs.

“So…guess it’s my turn.”

“Cloud it’s okay.” Aerith chuckled. “It’s not a competition.” 

He held a hand up to quiet her. She had just shared intimate memories she had kept shoved in the back of her head, demonstrating once more a mental strength he both admired and envied.

The least he could do was meet her halfway. 

“My mom and I…” He said, lowering his hand to his knees. “We used to go on gathering trips.”

Aerith nodded, waiting for him to tell her more. She knew it was difficult for him as well, to share something from his past, evident by the pauses between his words. 

“Medicinal herbs...aromatic plants. Even wild flowers sometimes…that’s how...that’s how we went by.”

He cast her a wary glance, regretting his decision until he saw her expectant smile, encouraging him to continue. 

“We didn’t make that much gil from it, but it was good enough…I guess?”

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, inwardly scolding himself for being unable to tell a simple story, especially after forcing the flower girl to recall heavier memories. 

Cloud flinched when he heard her get up silently, thinking she no longer wanted to bother. He hung his head in shame but immediately tensed when he heard her move around him. Aerith had merely decided to sit behind him, so that their backs were pressed together. He could feel her hair grazing the back of his neck.

“Tell me more.” She said.

“What are you doing?” Cloud asked, a crack in his voice. 

He felt her shrug with her response. 

“I thought it would be easier this way. Pretend I’m not here.”

Cloud cursed under his breath. How could he ignore her and the warmth that threatened to burst from inside him? Despite his agitation, he found himself relaxing with every breath he felt her take, and soon he even found himself leaning against her back.

Aerith smiled to herself, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the sound of his voice as he picked up where he left off. She felt the vibrations of his voice through her body and found it oddly comforting. 

“There’s nothing more to it really…just helping my mom with her work and doing chores.”

“My, my, what a goody two-shoes you were.” Aerith snickered but stopped when she heard the blond click his tongue in response. “What was your mom’s favorite flower?” She asked after a while.

“Sunflowers…I think...”

“I’ve read about them! Never seen a real one in Midgar though.”

“There were entire fields of them back at home.”

Cloud could feel the flower girl’s growing excitement at the idea of large hectares covered in yellow. “I want to see them!” She said. “You better take me there one day.”

“Sure thing.”

She then continued to bombard her bodyguard with mundane questions. About his mother and his relationship with her, but always making sure to stay on safe topics. 

“What was her favorite food?” 

“A homemade soup made from...roots or plants? A precious family secret according to her.”

This piqued her interest. “Really? What’s the recipe?” 

“Better off not knowing.” Not that he knew for himself.

“Okay, what about your favorite food then?”

“Definitely not that.”

“Hey! Don’t be mean to your mom!” She reached behind her in an attempt to pull his ear to disapprove of his criticism. “I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” 

He swatted her hand away.

“Believe me, you don’t want to know.” 

“Come on now...”

“Really. She wasn’t a bad cook, but this…” Cloud shuddered as he conjured the image of the dreaded dish that haunted his childhood. “I guess the taste might suit someone like you though.”

Aerith did not wait for his elaboration to be offended. “And what do you mean by someone like me?” 

Cloud chuckled at her outrage. “You struck me as some health-conscious vegetarian.”

“Judging a book by its cover? I expected better from you.” She reached behind her once more, aiming for his cheek this time. “I’ll have you know I enjoy a medium-rare steak just as much as the next person.”

Cloud swatted her hand away once again, trying to stifle a smile from tugging at his lips.

The pair remained in their position, back to back, enjoying the lighthearted banter from each other’s company. 

Before defeating the Arbiter of Fate, fleeting moments like these were exactly what Aerith had been looking forward to the most from her bodyguard. It made her happy and grateful to be able to experience these things again. Despite knowing where her ultimate fate would lead. 

But now that they had defeated it, she found herself daring to hope. That this new, unknown path would bring more precious moments that were beyond her former knowledge. But at the same time, she also dreaded it. What if she had led her friends down an even worse path than before? What if she was going to leave her bodyguard with a more devastating heartbreak? 

She felt her heart tighten in her chest when she felt his hand rest atop hers, hating herself for how easily he made her crumble from the smallest of gestures. 

Was she ready to gamble his heart for her own benefit?

She already knew the answer to that.

Aerith retracted her hand and quickly stood up without a warning, nearly toppling the blond as a result. “We should head back soon.” She said with forced cheer. 

Cloud sighed before slowly rising up. He could not help but feel slightly dejected. Had he done something wrong? 

“Thank you, Cloud.”

“...For what?”

Aerith looked down at her feet, smiling to herself. 

“For getting me out of Shinra.”

_In spite of everything I’ve said…_

She knew she shouldn’t, but she promised herself this would be the last act of selfishness...before once again keeping her distance.

Last words of gratitude, nothing more.

He dusted himself off before fastening the sword on to his back.

“I promised I would, didn’t I?”

Aerith lips curved upwards, a tinge of red coloring her cheeks as she recalled the determination in his eyes that night.

“Yeah you did…”

“Glad to know it wasn’t just my imagination.”

Aerith stiffened up at her bodyguard’s reply, realizing her slip-up. She should have ended the conversation then and there when she had the chance. 

Of course she had already expected that he would someday bring up the night she had appeared to him in a dream. She just did not expect it to happen so soon. 

She clasped her hands behind her back before fluttering her lashes at him, in the most innocent expression she could pull. “What are you talking about?”

She peered into the blue eyes trained on her, keeping a smile on despite the treacherous beat of her heart thundering against her rib cage and drowning out her surroundings.

“Don’t play dumb.”

Her smile faltered once it registered that there was no escaping her predicament. She cursed her bodyguard for unexpectedly pushing the topic.

Cloud took a step closer to her.

“Aerith…”

He frowned as she matched his step forward with a step backward. Her face, he noted, was bloodless and he could feel a palpable energy from her that was all too familiar to him. Fear.

For some reason, Aerith was scared of having this conversation. 

The blond bit his lip, having an inkling of why she was acting like this. It was more than just the events that transpired. It also had something to do with him. And he knew that if left to her own devices, Aerith would happily brush off the dream they shared, as well as the unspoken words between them. 

Cloud recalled the lesson he had promised to remember that night.

_Every minute, every moment matters._

He needed to make things clear now.

“Aerith…please talk to me.”

Aerith flashed him an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry, Cloud, I was emotional that night. I don’t really remember”—

“Don’t fall in love with me.”

Aerith winced at her own words thrown back at her.

_Stop._

Unfortunately for her, Cloud did not heed her silent plea.

“It’s just your imagination.”

She clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms as she fought back the tears blurring her vision. She inhaled sharply, closing her eyes in an effort to regain her composure.

_Please stop._

“I want my say in this…”

Aerith recoiled slightly when two trembling hands cupped her face, and gasped when she felt the warmth of his forehead against her own. She opened her eyes slowly, meeting his melancholy gaze. And in their depths told Aerith everything that words failed to. 

She suppressed a sob, feeling as though her soul was laid bare in front of his eyes. 

_Stop making it so hard, Cloud._

“We’ve only met a few days ago.” She choked out before taking hold of his wrists. “Do you think I’m an easy woman Mr. Strife? Hmm? Just because I’m such a sweet and friendly person doesn’t mean I’m in love with you.”

Cloud sighed as he brushed away the tears that were now spilling freely from his employer’s eyes.

“You’re scared of those visions? That it?”

“V-Visions?”

“Were they real?”

“What are you talking about?”

Cloud furrowed his brow, his own bewilderment matching hers.

“You didn’t see them?” He searched for any trace of deception but only noted the confusion swimming in her green eyes. “Arbiter of Fate? Red running through a canyon?”

Realization hit her. Her mind wandered back to that moment when the group had turned to their canine companion for answers during their battle against Fate.

_So that’s what they were shown._

“I saw you praying.” Cloud said, breaking into her frantic thoughts. 

The vision had been no more than a blue-tinted flash, and at no point did he see the person’s face clearly. But despite how quickly the moment played out, there was no mistaking the figure he saw and the clothes they were wearing. It had been her. Cloud would stake his life on it. 

“I also saw a lake.”

There was no denying whom he was laying in the water, even in the blinding light of that vision. The overwhelming sense of loss he had felt also made it abundantly clear.

Aerith clenched her jaw in frustration.

_Of all the things to show him!_

“Cloud, the Arbiter has been defeated, it’s all irrelev”—

“Then why are you still scared?”

“Let it go already!” She snapped. 

“How do you expect me to just _let it go?_ ” Cloud muttered through clenched teeth.

Aerith spun around, her back facing him.

_Please Cloud, forget everything._

“I can’t just forget, Aerith.”

She sighed before looking up at the starry sky, feeling a sense of bitterness at the universe for not only taking her loved ones twice, but also the life she could have had with the man standing behind her. In another lifetime in the same world. And how she had to watch him become a hollow shell. 

“I know…” She sighed sadly. “That’s your bad point.”

Being the last Cetra, she knew the chances of her staying by his side were close to nil as the Planet already seemed to have laid out a plan for her and she had refused to go against it in fear of the consequences. 

But with defeating the Arbiter of Fate, she had felt a surge of hope that things might turn out differently for them. That they might actually get their happy ending after all. Or...maybe it was something else. Maybe this time he might finally just be able to move on, and live a life after having to part with her. 

Maybe the river of fate had changed shape, but ultimately it would still find its way to the ocean. 

Could she really bear it? To risk his heart again for a tiny chance at a future? 

No. Aerith was not the gambling kind. 

Not when the stakes were that high. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry for the long delay. We’ve been too busy exploring the island of Tsushima these past two weeks…The next chapters might be a bit light on clerith interaction but I wanted to include the rest of the cast as well and explore more of their characters. Huge thanks to @iStanleyff7 for translating Nojima’s short story expanding on Aerith’s childhood (go read it if you haven’t already) and to my wife (@ashihime) for keeping up with editing and turning my rambling into something readable!

Not long after her seventh birthday, a little girl awoke to a new consciousness and began painting in a trance, immortalizing things she could see in her young mind without comprehension.

The trance lasted for days and the little girl kept painting with neither food nor rest, until exhaustion finally took a toll and the flashes stopped plaguing her at long last.

It was on that night that she started having a strange dream. 

The dream or, rather, vision, was about her beloved mother and her final moments on the Planet after she had managed to steal her daughter away from the corporation that dictated their lives. 

This vision was her first foray into the future, and was soon followed by many more. Though, at that time, the little girl did not understand any of them. 

Not long before her fifteenth birthday, the teenage girl had another dream. Of a boy her age falling through the roof and landing next to her flower bed.

A few weeks later, she would meet the same exact teenager in her dream, befriending him instantly and actively seeking out his company. A happy diversion from the loneliness and isolation that gnawed at her from her childhood. 

In the days that followed, she eventually developed feelings for him, caring for him beyond the boundaries of their friendship. But in a cruel twist, as though a reminder of the pain in her life, she was given another dream. That this boy with the raven hair—this First Class Soldier—would set out on a mission, never to return.

When the day of his departure came, she felt an overwhelming sadness and fear of having lost another important person in her life and without even having the chance to tell him what he meant to her. 

She desperately prayed she was wrong, that everything would be fine. But years passed and she finally accepted and understood the meaning of her dreams. 

With age, the premonitions became more frequent and infinitely more accurate.

Not long after experiencing her first heartbreak, the young woman’s dreams became plagued with incessant visions of another man, a blond this time, dressed in a similar getup and wielding the exact same broadsword.

A man who, at first glance, looked similar to her first love despite the obvious height difference and yet was nothing like him.

This man, who would later become her bodyguard, was the walking definition of socially inept, a complete opposite to the charismatic love she had lost.

Despite having the same mako-processed eyes, one pair radiated confidence, with a mischievous glint that warranted excitement and adventure. The other pair, however, bore something else. Conveying a deep loneliness that echoed for acceptance. To belong. 

Of the two, she found herself inexplicably drawn to the latter. A kindred spirit.

She remembered cursing at whatever higher being was at play, for toying with her and making light of her feelings for the Soldier she had lost, and replacing him in her heart without consent. Was it even okay for her feelings to change like that?

Despite her reservations, it didn’t take long for the blond to occupy both her dreams and her waking thoughts. She remembered questioning the authenticity of those emotions, worrying if it only came from the script the Planet had written out for its last living Cetra.

On her twentieth birthday, the young woman experienced her death again in yet another vivid dream. By now, she realized what she kept seeing were not premonitions of a yet to happen, but rather memories of a past life that was drawn from the lifestream. The emotions tied to them were too raw to be just the result of some magical foresight.

She could recall the searing pain of being impaled, the long blade running through her. It had been excruciating but thankfully quick. In those last moments of consciousness however, she had caught one last glimpse of him. _Cloud._ His eyes. The pain in them outmatched hers. 

When she awoke from that dream, she was in tears.

And ever since then, Aerith vowed to fight her fate in order to save the soul of the man she had already loved in a previous life. And that was on top of saving the Planet. 

The first plan she had formulated had been adorably naive. To pursue and stop a certain silver-haired madman by herself without ever having to get in contact with a certain blond. 

Unfortunately, she had to stem her optimism to realize that she had a hell’s chance at taking the former war hero by herself. 

So, she came up with a second plan. A simpler one. One that begrudgingly involved going through the fateful meeting. 

However, flirting and ultimately falling in love would be strictly prohibited. 

This time, she was hopeful. She might actually have a shot. 

But three days after their fateful reunion, she had to face the truth.

She had spectacularly failed.

...Who was she kidding?

_“Lovers used to give these when they reunited.”_

When she laid eyes on him, heart fluttering in excitement at finally meeting him, she knew she had already failed before she even started.

* * *

Tifa snapped her fingers in front of her friend’s face.

“Something wrong?”

“Sorry, I spaced out.”

Aerith blinked, then flashed the other woman a smile before taking a sip of her ice blended hibiscus mocha. She raised an eyebrow in surprise when she realized she was only sucking in air from her straw, much to her dismay. She barely remembered what her drink even tasted like. 

“Yeah, I noticed.” said Tifa as she took a sip of her iced coffee. She was not as daring when it came to new flavors, unlike her companion, whom she eyed cautiously. 

Aerith continued to absentmindedly slurp from her empty glass, confirming Tifa’s suspicions that something had happened. She remembered how Cloud and Aerith had shown up empty-handed the night before. The flower girl had given a dubious excuse when their companions, Barret especially, complained about their lack of efficiency.

* * *

_“Sorry we got attacked by monsters on our way back. Had to drop everything to run away.”_

_Sure, there were monsters roaming the area, but nothing that any of them couldn’t handle on their own, much less as a tandem._

_Tifa’s red eyes darted from the suspicious flower girl, who just rushed to the campfire like a child, and rested on to her childhood friend who was wearing a glum expression._

_The awkwardness surrounding the two was easily noticeable, made all the more obvious by the physical distance the Cetra seemed keen on maintaining between her and her bodyguard despite usually being all over him._

_Noticing the tension, Barret and Red XIII exchanged puzzled glances before redirecting their gazes to Tifa, silently asking for an explanation._

_She could only shrug._

* * *

Tifa took another sip of her drink.

“So what happened between you two?”

Aerith dropped her glass, taken aback by the simple question. Fortunately, it did not break and merely rolled on the surface of the table.

“What are you talking about?”

Tifa raised an eyebrow at her before picking up the fallen glass. Aerith mouthed an apology with a sheepish smile.

Tifa returned to the topic at hand by tilting her head over to the direction of where a familiar figure was waiting in line for the rest of their order. Following Tifa’s gaze, Aerith stared wistfully at the back of Cloud’s blond head before propping an elbow on the table to rest her chin.

“Nothing, I was just thinking.”

“About?”

Aerith sighed. “How much of a shame that thing is.”

She pointed to Cloud’s pitch black hooded-windbreaker.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Black again? Seriously?”

Aerith kicked her chair back, throwing her arms up in frustration. “That lavender hoodie suited him better!”

Tifa chuckled when she recalled how Cloud had vehemently protested against the colorful garment.

“Speaking of dull colors…”

Aerith pointedly eyed the similarly black hooded-windbreaker Tifa was wearing. Her deadpan scrutiny forced Tifa to look down in embarrassment.

“...What’s wrong with it?”

Aerith scoffed, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

“Talk about matching tastes, the two of you.”

Tifa’s face flushed a deep shade of red at the implication and Aerith only grinned at her reaction. 

Clearing her throat, Aerith beamed with renewed excitement. “Thankfully, this dress will more than make up for it!”

She peered into one of the shopping bags sitting on the chair next to her, nodding to herself in self-appreciation. Tifa shyly risked a glance at the aforementioned dress before looking back at her friend.

“I don’t know, those types of dresses don’t suit”—

Aerith shushed her friend up before she could go on any further.

“Doesn’t suit you? Have you ever looked in a mirror?”

 _The gall of the woman._ Aerith thought. With a figure like that, there was nothing she could not pull off.

Tifa retreated back in her chair while slurping up the rest of her drink in an attempt to mask her embarrassment. She then adjusted her hood when she noticed two Shinra guards patrolling down the street, a gesture Aerith mimicked by propping up the hood of her newly acquired burgundy jacket.

“We should lay low.”

“ _Indeed we should._ ” 

Both girls looked up to see Cloud’s eyes glaring down at them. He paid especially close detail to the Cetra and her garment of choice which he did not approve of as it still bore a striking similarity to her old jacket. He turned to Tifa with an exasperated plea. 

“Try and talk some sense into her for me please?”

“Hey!” Aerith exclaimed. “I’m not the one dressed like someone looking into joining a cult!”

Her eyes then darted between her two companions, both clad in black, before raising an eyebrow at her bodyguard.

“And remind me again, who had to talk someone down from walking around town with a gigantic sword on his back?”

Cloud sighed in defeat as he laid down a box on the table before drawing out the last chair available to join the conversation. Aerith eagerly opened the box, revealing an assortment of cream filled donuts. A Kalm specialty that should not be missed, according to the flower shop she had visited earlier.

“What are the odds we would walk in here just in time for the town’s annual festival?” She stared at the delicacies laid out before her, trying to decide on her first victim. “The flower shop owner told me it’s going to be the best one yet!”

Cloud, not waiting on Aerith’s indecisiveness, picked up a donut with a glaze the same shade as her jacket and held it out to her. “Not hard to see when no one in town has anything better to do.”

Tifa immediately scolded Cloud for his condescension. “It’s not their fault they can’t access the mythril mines anymore, not with that giant snake roaming around.”

Aerith pondered a moment, before cautiously grabbing the donut offered to her. 

“Strawberry jam?”

Cloud nodded, earning himself a thumbs-up from the flower girl before she took a bite.

She yelped in surprise as the jam started dribbling down on her chin, not expecting such a generous filling. Tifa stifled a giggle at the sight while Cloud scoffed as he reached for a paper napkin.

Just as the blond made an attempt to wipe away the offending jelly, Aerith held up a hand to stop him. “It’s okay, I can do it myself.” Despite her voice being barely above a whisper, it still held enough of a commanding tone to stop the Ex-Soldier.

Tifa stared intently at the Cetra, surprised at the sudden shift in attitude, the tension she had sensed between the two of them returning in full force. She shifted back to her childhood friend, noting his dejected look as he watched her reach for a napkin on her own.

_Yeah, something definitely happened._

* * *

Aerith knocked on the hardwood door adjacent to the room she was sharing with Tifa. She peeked into the shopping bag once more to make sure she had brought everything that had been asked for.

She heard loud footsteps shuffling around and a gruff voice behind the door asking her to state her identity.

“Delivery from your wandering florist.”

She decided a title change was necessary now that they were travelling around the world.

Soon enough, the flower girl could hear the door being unlocked, its hinges screeching as the Avalanche leader swung it open.

“What took you so long?”

Aerith stepped inside the room, spotting Red XIII curled up in a corner.

“Sorry…we got”—

She was interrupted by the loud rumbling of the large man’s stomach.

“...Sidetracked.”

She had the decency to feel guilt at the thought of her two companions holed up inside a room and starving while she had been outside enjoying the locale cuisine with Cloud and Tifa.

“Here.” Aerith handed Barret a bucket of fried seafood, before putting an identical one out in front of their four-legged companion. “I hope it’s enough.”

Red XIII eyed the bucket dubiously and sniffed its contents. After studying it for a few seconds, he willed himself to sample a taste. He soon began devouring a mouthful, licking his lips with a satisfied expression.

“This will do. Thank you.”

Aerith smiled back at him, patting his head as she turned back to Barret, who was inspecting the dark brown cloak she had placed on the table.

“Sorry we couldn’t find your size.”

She tugged at the hem of her own jacket for emphasis.

“No worries, I’d rather just stay here than walk around town hiding like a coward in disguise from those Shinra assholes anyway.” Barret scratched the back of his head, realizing the implication of his words. “Sorry. Didn’t mean any offense.”

Aerith flashed him a reassuring smile. “None taken. Cloud’s just being cautious…”

The man waved his gun arm.

“I know, I know…still feels like overkill to me though.” He popped a shrimp in his mouth with his valid hand, wiping his fingers clean with a napkin afterwards. “What about the rest?”

“In the bag.”

Barret nodded before retrieving it. His eyes lit up when he found what he had requested for.

“Exactly what I needed! Thank you, Aerith!”

The large man sat down as he began laying out the items on the table. A notebook, a set of charcoal pencils, and a stack of envelopes complete with letter paper. 

“Now then...” He could not help but smile, as it was finally time to put in some work towards what really mattered.

Aerith stood up from her crouching position next to Red XIII in order to grab a seat next to the Avalanche leader.

“What are you going to do with that?” The envelopes and letter paper were self-explanatory, but she was curious as to why he needed a notebook and a set of special pencils for. 

Barret stared outside the window of the wall the table was positioned against, quiet and still that he could almost be a statue. Then, his hand moved, guiding the pencil onto the paper with broad grainy strokes as he began sketching the street down below.

“Just drawing a bit.” came his delayed answer, as he focused on his work. 

Aerith followed the large man’s hand movement on the page, surprised at the dexterity on display. Then, the pencil came to a sudden stop, breaking Aerith’s entrancement. She looked up to his face to find him staring at her own. His brows were furrowed down in confusion. 

“You’re staying?”

Aerith tilted her head to the side, batting her lashes with girlish innocence.

“You want me to leave?”

Barret scratched the back of his head, his mouth scrunched up in thought.

“I just thought you were going to stick with Spikes and Tifa.”

Aerith chuckled at the nickname he had given the blond. Suited him right.

“Nah, I’m a bit tired.” She stretched and yawned for emphasis. “Besides, I’d rather not be third wheeling.” Giving them some alone time together surely had to be the best course of action.

Barret quirked an eyebrow at that. Third wheel was definitely not what a certain mercenary seemed to have in mind when it came to a particular flower girl. If anything, she held a more special place in the dumb blond’s regard, given how he acted regarding her kidnapping. 

Something was definitely up though. There had been something weird brewing between the two since yesterday. An argument perhaps? 

“Never knew you were such a good artist.” Aerith said, oblivious to his thoughts. 

Barret shook his head. It was not his place to be nosy. A lesson he would often give to Marlene. It was better to stick to his own business. With that in mind, he slid the journal over to his audience, to let her have a better look. 

“Just thought it would be nice to draw some of the landscapes we would encounter while travelling.”

Aerith took her time appreciating his work before handing it back to him. “For Marlene?” She asked. 

Barret’s face instantly lit up at the mention of his daughter’s name. His smile practically cracking outside his face. “They would make fine bedtime stories, right?”

Red’s ears perked up at the name he had only heard once.

“Marlene?”

Barret began to vibrate with excitement at the chance to educate someone about the most precious person in his life. “My daughter! Cute as a button and kind as an angel!”

A warm smile bloomed on Aerith’s face as she watched the usually fierce Avalanche leader brag happily about his beloved daughter at length. The look on his face was filled with overwhelming love. 

Aerith suddenly felt a pang of guilt, realizing she had been too preoccupied with her own worries during their previous journey to ever notice how much of a caring father the large man before her really was. In fact, she realized she did not know as much as she would have liked about the Avalanche leader. 

The same applied to their four-legged companion curled up in a corner of the room, who was currently being schooled on the fifty reasons Marlene Wallace was the cutest kid on Gaia. To her surprise, Red listened attentively, his stoic eyes betraying a newfound appreciation for his lecturer and the amount of parental love that radiated from him, something the canine probably longed for himself.

Aerith’s lack of knowledge also extended to their future companions as well. Even Tifa, in spite of their instant friendship, was still a mystery to her.

Aerith mentally scolded her past self for focusing solely on Cloud during their previous adventure. Then again, maybe it was just her forgetting certain details...perhaps a result of the whispers erasing most of her knowledge about future events? She would just have to pay more attention this time around.

This would also serve as a good distraction while keeping her distance from a certain blond.

“All done!”

Barret’s exclamation interrupted her thoughts, prompting Aerith to focus on the completed sketch he was holding up.

“Wow, that’s really good!”

His excitement wore off, replaced by a pensive frown as he scrutinized the sketch with a critical eye, his eyes flickering back and forth from the paper to the actual landscape outside. 

He scoffed. “Tch, guess that’s the best I can do with this hand.”

Aerith gasped, her eyes falling on his gun arm.

“Wait...you’re right-handed?”

“ _Was_.” He turned his gun arm around to examine it from different angles before cocking it towards the ceiling. “At least now I can stick it to Shinra’s with this.”

Behind the smirk and the bravado, Aerith could feel the man’s melancholy for his younger days. She pointed back at the sketch he had just finished, her curiosity piqued.

“How did you become this good anyway?”

Barret’s expression softened as he recalled his other most precious person in his life, his late wife Myrna. Whenever her illness would allow it, she would spend all her time on her passion. 

He did not understand it at first, not seeing how anyone could be inspired by the desolate landscapes of Corel. But with each picture, he started to see beauty in things he would never have expected to exist. Soon enough, he tried his hand at it, using coal pieces to sketch alongside his wife, steadily getting better as he spent more time in sharing her passion.

His lips flattened into a hard line as he remembered how naive he had been when he pushed for the construction of that accursed Mako reactor, thinking it would make their lives easier and give him more time to spend with his ailing wife.

The large man shook his head, berating himself for mulling over the past even though he had already promised himself to move forward and focus all his efforts into taking down the evil corporation. In order to make a better world for his daughter—and earning his sweet revenge while he was at it.

He took a deep breath addressing the young woman. “What about you? My crummy scribble is nothing compared to your art back in Shinra HQ.”

Aerith held her gaze towards Barret, who had just ignored her question. She got the hint though. His story would have to wait another time.

“Why would you assume it was me?” She asked. 

“I have a daughter of my own, you know?”

Aerith giggled at his reply, imagining the hulking man running after his tiny daughter to prevent her from covering the walls of Seventh Heaven with crayon murals. On second thought, maybe he would just leave her be. Considering how he was wrapped around the little girl’s finger. 

She beamed as an idea materialized inside her head, causing her to stand up and leave the room, much to bewilderment of its occupants. Their confusion only heightened when the young woman returned a few moments later, a vase full of flowers in her hands.

“We bought some flowers in town.” She placed them on the table as she returned to her seat next to Barret. “Marlene likes flowers, right?”

Barret nodded, unsure of what she was trying to get at.

“Let’s add some flowers to it!”

The flower girl produced another notebook from her pocket, one she had bought for herself, in which she had already catalogued different flowers and plants she had found in their shopping trip.

“Local landscapes _and_ flowers... That would make the perfect picture book, don’t you think?”

Barret stroked his chin pensively before breaking into a full grin.

“Aerith, you’re brilliant.”

She stuck her nose in the air to give her best haughty impression.

“About time someone recognizes it.”

This earned her Barret’s booming laughter. 

The pair spent the better part of the next hour going over the different flower types before them, cataloguing each one onto the pages of the notebook. Barret might not have Cloud’s eye for flowers, but his enthusiasm to learn about something for his daughter more than made up for his initial shortcoming.

The large man flipped over the pages with a satisfied grin, pleased with the amount of content they gathered in just their first leg of their adventure. After putting it away, he grabbed his stack of letter paper, pulling out three sheets. 

“On to the next.” He said, as he handed one to a puzzled Aerith.

“What for?”

Barret smirked at her cluelessness, surprised she had to ask.

“To write to your mom, what else?”

Aerith took the blank paper, slowly dawning on her that the day she had brought Cloud to her house had most probably been the last time she had seen her adoptive mom in her previous life. Indeed, she had no recollection of ever going back to Midgar before _it_ happened…

She looked up at Barret with uncertainty.

“Don’t leave her hanging. Ain’t nothing worse for a parent than worrying about their kid.”

He patted her shoulder before turning to their furry companion.

“What ‘bout you Red? Want one?”

The canine—or was he more feline?—drew himself up from his nested position, arching his back as he stretched his limbs before making his way to the table. 

Writing a letter to his grandfather did sound like a good idea, considering how long it had been since he had run away from home. The three of them settled down with a piece of paper each, the silence only being disturbed by the sound of rustling as they spent the next few minutes jotting down their thoughts.

Barret was the first to finish, filling three pages full of reassuring words and detailed descriptions of everything they had encountered on their journey, bolstering even the boring aspects with exaggerated details, which he knew would enthral Marlene. 

He looked over at Red who was having trouble writing with a pen in his mouth. He could almost hear their four-legged companion growl in complaint at his lack of opposable thumbs. The canine spat the pen out as soon as he was done, glaring at the unwieldy object before passing his letter with his mouth.

Barret raised an eyebrow as he scanned the unsteady and comically large glyphs written on the sheet of paper, creased with teeth marks.

“No signature?”

Red XIII stood on his hind legs against the table to locate the ink pad Barret had used for his own letter. He dipped one paw into it before slamming it down onto his missive. “That should do it."

Barret glanced at the messy paw print left at the bottom of the letter and sighed. Good enough. He then stalked over to Aerith, sitting on the bed, to check her progress. Considering her outgoing personality, he found, to his surprise, the flower girl struggling to write anything substantial.

_Hi Mom,_

_I hope you’re well._

_Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine._

Barret frowned at the brevity of her words. This was something he would expect from an insensitive moron like Cloud and not the cheerful young woman.

“Isn’t there more you want to tell her?”

Aerith stared at her letter, unsure of what else to add.

Indeed there was so much more she wanted to say to the kind mother who had taken her in, who supported her throughout the years, providing the only source of emotional support in her otherwise lonely childhood. Her second mother, who became as true as her flesh and blood one. 

The shadow of fate was still looming over in Aerith’s mind though, making it hard to find the right words to write down.

While Aerith was not the superstitious kind, she still felt wary of writing something that could jinx herself. It was idiotic, all things considered. 

Noticing her uncertainty, Barret decided to chime in.

“Doesn’t matter if you stop here. You can just write more once you’ve sorted yourself out.” He patted her on the back. “For now this should do...‘ _See you soon. With love, your precious daughter Aerith’._ ”

Aerith smiled sadly, knowing the odds stacked against her.

“I don’t know if”—

Barret placed his large hand on the brunette’s head, transforming her sad smile into an exasperated pout as he ruffled her hair.

“Stop worrying your pretty little head.” 

He instructed her into writing the closing words before he took the paper from her. He then shoved all three into their envelopes.

“You’ll see your mom again. We’ll make sure of that.”

Aerith watched Barret’s retreating form as he exited the room, letters in hand. His size filled out all corners of the doorframe. A warm smile tugged at her lips as she found herself whispering. 

“Thank you Barret.”

Barret waved back at her, all without turning around, as he shut the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Sorry for the long delay once again. Big thanks to all the readers as usual and for all your kind comments!  
> This is another chapter light on Clerith interactions, just bear with it a little longer (just one more after that and we'll get back to them).
> 
> Huge shoutout to my wife, ashihime, for editing this in between writing and drawing for her Jack/Ashi fandom in Samurai Jack. They just got their happy ending with the newly released game too! Clerith is next!

“You look good.”

Tifa blinked at the unexpected compliment.

Even though Aerith had been adamant that the recommended orange sundress would do the trick for tonight’s festival, she still had her reservations.

The last time she had worn something bright and colorful had been in her carefree teenage days back in Nibelheim. Now, she had grown used to muted colors and adopted it as her own signature style. One that started not long after that fateful night. 

“Really?” Tifa twirled around to give him a better view, the long skirt flaring out airily. “I was worried since it’s not exactly my style.”

_“Don’t fret, Cloud will love it!”_

_“On you maybe… But on me…”_

_“Aw come on! You’ll learn to love it!”_

She smiled to herself as she ran a hand over the soft cotton fabric of her skirt. 

It certainly felt different from her usual tank top and leather skirt combo, not that it was a bad thing as the dress itself was comfortable. It even came with pockets— _a woman’s best friend,_ according to Aerith.

Tifa chuckled, recalling the long rant the flower girl broke into regarding the shortage of cute dresses with real pockets and how clothing designers should be ashamed of themselves for depriving women of the essentials in life.

“You sure went all out for tonight.” Cloud pointed to the flower crown adorning his childhood friend’s head that was woven into her raven hair. 

This prompted Tifa’s hands to instantly shoot up to her hair. 

“I told her it was too much!” She winced, as she attempted to remove the accessory. 

“Wait!” Cloud held up his hands in front of her before she could remove the pins. “I never said that. It looks nice, that’s all.”

“Really?” She eyed him incredulously, refusing to believe her own ears. Her Ex-Soldier battle-hardened childhood friend had not only given one but _two_ compliments in the span of one night. He had even pointed out a hair accessory of all things. 

Cloud simply nodded in response. 

_“He may not look like it, but the guy loves flowers!”_

Tifa looked down at her red sneakers in embarrassment, muttering her thanks.

Cloud gave her a small imperceptible smile before turning his attention back to the entrance of the inn, anticipating the arrival of their other companion. After seeing Tifa, he could not help but wonder what kind of outfit the flower girl would cobble together for herself, hoping it would not be flashy enough to garner unwanted attention. For her protection of course. It was not as though he was against seeing her dress all fancy. He vividly recalled how particularly stunning she had been in that red dress back in Wall Market…

He mentally stopped in his tracks, afraid his thoughts would show on his face. It would be doubly embarrassing if Aerith were to appear and make fun of him for it. 

Cloud sighed as he leaned against the lamppost that stood in front of the inn. 

“What’s taking her so long?”

“Aerith’s not coming.”

Cloud turned back to face Tifa, his surprise evident in his normally stoic demeanor.

“What the—? She’s the one who insisted we all go!”

Tifa’s gaze shifted away from his face to the second floor windows of the inn, where they had taken up the only two rooms. One side still had their lights on, which meant Barret and Red XIII were most likely still up. The other had the curtains drawn shut despite the early evening. 

Tifa shrugged. “She said she was too tired after all.”

Cloud frowned at such an obvious excuse, knowing for certain that Aerith would never miss out on an opportunity to have fun. 

He stared at one of the darkened windows, as though he could peer past the heavy curtains and catch the flower girl in her farce. 

_What are you playing at…?_

Cloud was not ignorant enough to not have an inkling of her plan, especially with how she had been actively keeping him at arm’s length since the night they discussed his dream. 

Neither was Tifa, who was fidgeting in place. Suffice to say, Cloud did not like what Aerith was trying to pull one bit.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go in the end.” Tifa’s soft voice came through, momentarily chasing the Cetra away from his thoughts. He looked back at his childhood friend as she slowly started taking out the flowers laced in her hair one by one.

Seeing her downcast face, a familiar guilt knotted inside his gut. One that had grown considerably in the past couple of days. He had not been able to save her friends back in Sector 7, nor her home and the new life she had built for herself despite the promise he had made to her that starry evening in their hometown years ago.

He had not been able to console her properly either. He did not seem to know how. The night she had shed tears for Jessie in her final moments. Then, it happened again as she grieved for everything she had lost in Midgar. He had just been standing there, frozen and unsure. And it was Tifa who had to come to him to unload her tears onto his chest. He had hesitated putting his arms around her, a gesture meant to replicate Barret’s own. But the sound of Tifa’s cries had overwhelmed him, which seemed to only hammer in the fact that he had failed her yet again. Just like that night of smoke and fire, where he too had lost everything. His hometown. His mother...losses he had never taken the time to dwell in, choosing to escape from his grieving thoughts. 

Cloud took a long calming breath before clearing his throat to regain her attention.

“We’re already ready, might as well tour around now.”

His hand motioned towards the flower she still had in her hand.

“Give me that.”

Tifa complied, handing it to him. She stayed motionless, too dumbfounded to say anything, as she watched her childhood friend fumble with his white shirt. He patted himself down, searching and even studying the gaps between the buttonholes for lack of a shirt pocket. But he quickly gave up and, to further Tifa’s surprise, tucked the stem of the white violet behind his own ear. 

_“People used to give these to declare their loyalty to one another.”_

Aerith had taught Cloud the meaning of it when they picked flowers from her garden to deliver to the Leaf orphanage.

_Loyalty huh?_

Tifa had always been a loyal friend, being there and taking him in when he was at his lowest, fumbling around haphazardly in the sector 7 train station.

Despite her initial reservations, she had even followed him on his quest to rescue a complete stranger from the biggest corporation in the world. The same corporation indirectly responsible for getting their hometown burnt to the ground and the deaths of their respective parents.

The least he could do tonight was repay her loyalty by being a worthy friend for once.

“Nailed it again, I presume?”

Cloud angled his head, giving her a clear view of his flower-adorned profile, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. 

“Well…nailed it might be a bit of a stretch…”

His lips immediately flattened back into a stern line.

“...Forget it.” He grumbled, reaching for the offending ornament which, _apparently_ , did not suit him as much as he had thought.

His hand was stilled by a soft giggle, which made him scowl. “Come on, no need to mock me that much.”

Tifa cleared her throat, her lips still curved up with a small smile. “I was just taken aback. You can keep it there, I like it.”

Cloud lowered his arm back to his side, mumbling. “Should have said so from the beginning then…”

Tifa rolled her eyes before pushing her companion towards the main street, where the festivities had already begun to swing into full motion. “Come on now, Cloud, no need to be grumpy tonight.”

The pair walked down the brightly lit street, weaving their way through the crowds of people flocking the various stalls and attractions set up for the occasion.

The smell of sizzling seafood permeated the air, luring in droves of onlookers hoping for a nice meal in between bouts at the numerous game stalls, where barkers hyped up the prizes that were on display.

The pair soon reached the main plaza where four arches of flowers stood, made from locally grown daisies and daffodils interspersed with varied foliage for a rich touch. The lampposts were not forgotten either, each one twined with garlands of multicolored flowers Cloud could not identify. The lushness complemented the surrounding magnolias trees that were in full bloom, scattering pink petals all around, giving the whole area the look and feel of an oil painting on a breezy spring evening. 

Aerith surely would have enjoyed such a sight.

Cloud shook his head, scolding himself for his drifting thoughts. If avoiding him like the plague was more important to her than enjoying the town with him and Tifa, then she only had herself to blame. Besides, he had already decided to focus on his childhood friend for the night.

His eyes scanned the area, stopping on the bronze fountain situated in the middle of where dancing couples moved, swaying with their partners to the melodic tune played by a quartet in a nearby lodge.

“My! What a beautiful couple! You should join the others!” Cloud and Tifa turned their attention to an old bespectacled lady addressing them. 

Cloud did not hold back in setting things straight.

“No. It’s not like that.”

Tifa lightly tapped him on the back for his aggressive tone. Then, in a more polite tone, added. “Sorry, ma’am. But we’re not a couple.”

The old woman squinted at them behind her thick lenses, before pulling a man, presumably her husband, closer to her side. “I don’t believe you, missy! Right, darling?”

Cloud rolled his eyes in response, which earned him a more forceful slap on the back from Tifa.

“Sorry ma’am...but we’re really not. Besides we don’t know how to…” Tifa trailed off, looking for the right word as she stared at the dancers. She had seen that type of dance before, once in passing on television.

“Waltz.”

Tifa turned back to Cloud, blinking in astonishment at his matter-of-fact reply.

“...Wait a minute…You know this dance?”

Cloud just shrugged before supplying a laconic, “Yep.”

This made Tifa’s eyes widen. “I mean… you know the _name_ of this dance?”

Cloud crossed his arms with a raised eyebrow.

“Know both the name and the steps. Why?”

Tifa slowly shook her head in bewilderment. The night was getting crazier by the second. In all her years of knowing him, she would never have suspected Cloud to know anything about dancing, much less be actually involved in it.

_“You should have seen him! Now that was a show!”_

While Aerith did tell her about his supposed dancing prowess, Tifa had just assumed the brunette meant it in a tongue-in-cheek way. It was strange. She had known Cloud longer, yet Aerith seemed to know more things about him in just a few days. 

Although she had many questions racing through her head, the only one she could blurt out was...

“How?”

“Soldier training.”

Cloud had resorted to go-to excuse as soon as the question came. The truth, however, was a bit more personal than that. It actually had more to do with his mother taking him up for impromptu dances around their house for her whim, but he was not in the mood for a trip down memory lane just yet.

“Soldier…training..?” Tifa frowned dubiously at the blond, and Cloud could not blame her.

“Yep...” He said, rubbing his nape, realizing how stupid his explanation sounded. He had to somehow divert her attention. And fast.

“Okay, ma’am. We’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Wait wha”—

Tifa did not get to finish her protest as he snatched her wrist and led her into the middle of the plaza with the other dancers. 

“Just follow my lead.” He said and Tifa gasped as he guided her right hand to rest on his shoulder while taking her other into his right. His other hand was placed on the small of her back. The next few minutes blurred quickly. Tifa felt a mix of awe and disbelief as her dance partner held her close, guiding her through the steps and basic motions with ease. Then, there was a feeling of humiliation on her part as she probably looked the part of a complete drunk, wobbling dizzily on her feet while being twirled around.

The music fortunately stopped as the musicians took a small break, which earned them Tifa’s lifetime of gratitude. Cloud nonchalantly let her go, looking just as impassive as when they had started. 

“You believe me now?”

“I do.” groaned Tifa as she tried to steady her confused feet.

Cloud broke into a smug grin, reveling in shutting down any doubts of his dancing skill. He would need to have a conversation with a certain flower girl before she started spreading word about it even more than she already had. Hopefully.

The pair thanked the old couple who roped them in before moving towards the numerous stalls on the other side of the plaza.

“Hey, mister! Come and try winning a prize for your nice lady over there!”

Cloud didn’t bother stopping, hand waving the comment away as he walked past the stall with cans meant to be knocked down. 

“Not interested.”

“Come on man! You gotta show your cool side to your gal once in a while.”

Cloud stopped in his tracks, exasperation slipping through as he set to correct the misunderstanding for the second time of the night.

“It’s not like that.”

“That’s what we all say.”

Cloud sighed.

There was only one way to shut these types of people up.

"How much?”

“Five gil per try.”

The middle-aged man grinned as he watched the blond man before him reach into his pocket for the required amount. In exchange for the gil, he gave him a basket of three leather balls before explaining the rules.

“You get three throws to knock these ten cans down. Knock ‘em all down and you win one of these here plushes.”

He jerked his thumb behind him to a wall of beady-eyed stuffed animals. 

Cloud turned towards Tifa, offering a ball.

“Wanna do it?”

Tifa sighed, lamenting Cloud’s total lack of anything close to a romantic bone. While he had once shown some promise before, at the bar after the first mako reactor bombing mission, it only went downhill from here.

“Would be nice to get a gift sometimes.”

Cloud shrugged before turning back to face his target. Ten cans arranged in a small pyramid. Most assuredly weighted to prevent the wind from accidentally knocking them down.

_That and scamming customers._

Not wanting to be added to the sucker list, Cloud threw the ball with full force, blasting not only the pyramid set in front of him but also plowing a hole through the wooden wall behind the cans.

Tifa slapped a hand to her face, cringing with embarrassment. 

Cloud scratched the back of his head nervously before sheepishly eyeing the stall owner who stared dumbfoundedly at the mark of destruction.

“...Still counts as a win, right?”

The man hastily jumped back, nodding furiously as he motioned to the row of plushes and putting as much distance from himself and the blond’s line of sight.

“O-Of course! Choose whatever prize you want!”

Tifa scooted closer to the stall to get a better look at the selection. Most of the stuffed toys were fabricated to be as adorable as possible, which made picking just one a more difficult choice than it had any right to be. In the fluffy mass, the two that caught her eye were a long nosed grey dolphin and a yellow chocobo wearing a navy blue sailor outfit complete with matching hat.

“Having a hard time choosing?”

Tifa hummed as she debated on which prize to get, but to no avail. She clapped her hands together when she figured out the perfect way to solve her dilemma. 

She smiled up at Cloud. 

“Your win, your choice.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, get the cutest one!”

Cloud sighed at being handed a responsibility he thought unfitting of his Ex-Soldier status.

Much to everyone’s surprise, it only took him a few seconds to settle on a plush he deemed the ‘cutest’.

“I’ll get this one then.” 

Both the owner and Tifa stared curiously at the blond’s choice, a simple white teddy bear.

Tifa studied the plush handed to her in detail, wondering why he would choose this particular plush from all the other ones on display, many of which she found much cuter. It did not take long for her to come to a realization though as there was one slight adornment on the toy that differentiated it from the rest.

A melancholic smile formed on her lips as she shifted her gaze back from the pink ribbon sewn on top of its head back to the man who had just chosen it. He had made the choice as if it were the most natural one to take.

_So honest._

“What?”

_So clueless too._

“Thanks Cloud.”

He nodded as they walked on, making their way back to the fountain sitting in the middle of the plaza. They sat at the edge of it’s pool. 

Tifa gently laid her newly acquired companion next to her before leaning back slightly, just enough to look up at the starry sky above.

“Well that was fun.”

“Yeah.”

She gazed at the sky for a while longer, enjoying a sight that made her reminisce of the night Cloud had called her out to the village water tower. If she turned her head back to Cloud, she would find him younger, wearing a simple white shirt with denim knee length shorts.

Nostalgia started to overwhelm her. For a moment she felt as if she had truly gone back in time, back to the happier times, before everything in her life started to crumble down around her.

Everything felt so similar… 

But she knew that was not the case. 

She had already known the moment she met him again after seven years, that he had changed, and things had changed between them. But it was even more evident now.

Tifa followed the blond’s gaze, curious at what had him staring so intently.

A soft smile pasted on her lips as she took notice of a signpost covered in yellow lilies that had him transfixed. She did not need to ask, he probably would deny it anyway.

Or perhaps not.

Unlike how quickly he had been rebuking everyone for mistakenly labelling them as a couple tonight, he had never tried to deny anything more happening between him and Aerith when she had asked him. A woman who had barged her way into his heart and occupied his thoughts since meeting her only a few days ago.

She slanted her eyes down at the bear he had chosen without a second thought, gently caressing the pink ribbon resting on its head.

_So honest indeed._

Tifa smiled to herself. Even though she had initially wished to connect with him in a similar way as the last Cetra had, she could not help feeling a sense of contentment at seeing her childhood friend move on with his life after everything that had happened. Maybe now she would be able to follow in his footsteps and take her own, leaving her old demons behind. And hopefully, for good.

Maybe now she could become his real friend, without the shadow of their past constantly looming over their relationship. Satisfied with the idea, she hummed loudly as she stretched out her legs, her tune breaking Cloud from his thoughts.

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it a bit as he mentally scolded himself for spacing out. Then, he turned to Tifa. 

“It was fun hitting the town with you, just like you said.”

Tifa gave him a small smile, which evolved into a knowing smirk.

“Would have been even more fun with a certain someone around right?”

She had expected his childhood friend to get flustered and stutter, but much to her surprise, he just turned back to stare at the yellow flowers once more, furrowing his brows as he resumed his thinking.

Tifa joined him in studying the decorated post.

“What happened between you two?”

Cloud clenched his jaw as he recalled the conversation he had with the flower girl the night before.

“I honestly don’t know…”

He leaned back, looking at the starry sky for the first time.

Ever since he had met Aerith, she had been constantly teasing and flirting with him. He had dismissed it at first, assuming the flower girl’s quirky demeanor was just how she naturally was. Even then, their short time together made him feel so…fulfilled. As if he had finally accomplished a lifelong goal upon their first meeting that night on Loveless Street. 

The conversation they had in his dream made everything even more complicated, the barrage of mixed signals confusing him to no end. He should not have been that bothered by the words of a mere acquaintance from a day before but he had felt dread in the pit of his stomach as she talked about death and felt...hurt...when she negated his feelings for her.

Then there were those visions that had plagued him ever since.

“Hey, Tifa.”

“Hm?”

He licked his lips, considering his next choice of words carefully.

“You saw these… visions too right? During our fight with those ghosts.”

“Yeah…I did.”

He was not sure if he should be relieved or not.

On one hand, having someone else seeing the same things felt oddly comforting. That maybe he was not going crazy after all.

On the other hand…

“She didn’t see any.”

“Huh?”

“Aerith.”

Tifa went over his words, trying to understand the point he was trying to make.

Cloud was still unsure himself, but everything so far seemed to point towards a clear outcome, one which he certainly had no desire to see come to fruition.

_“Maybe I’ll go on ahead and leave you all by your lonesome.”_

Cloud clenched his fists in frustration, recalling the seemingly inconspicuous banter he had with Aerith around Sector 5.

_“Don’t think you can rely on me forever, mister?”_

_“Wasn’t planning to.”_

_“Good.”_

He peered into the fountain pool, studying his reflection, most notably the mako infused eyes that she had praised back in the park. With how close she was, it was also the first time he had gotten an up-close look at her and how breathtaking she really was. Always had been.

Tifa watched her childhood friend deep in thought, slowly understanding the conclusion he had probably reached.

“Maybe she didn’t because there was no need to, since she’s a Cetra.” She offered. 

Cloud had already pondered on that possibility.

Deep down though, he already knew the answer.

The vivid heartache he had felt as he watched her retreating back as they were setting out from Sector 5 was proof enough…

“I don’t think those were visions.”

Tifa tilted her head at him.

“What do you mean?”

His gaze was still fixated on his own reflection, trying to decipher his own emotions.

“What did you feel upon seeing them?” She said, tapping at her temple. Tifa had to admit though, she understood very little outside of her childhood friend confronting their nemesis. That and the fear and anxiety she felt upon seeing a giant meteor streak towards what she assumed to be the Planet. 

Other than that...

“I think… I already went through all this.”

_You knew you were destined to die._

Cloud continued.

“Aerith too.”

_And you were planning on going along with it._

“I think…” He shook his head, correcting himself.

_He knew._

He had already lost her once.

He knew he had already laid her to rest in a lake showered in blinding light.

Despite his earlier efforts, his vision started to blur, a deep sense of loss overwhelming him, his frustration towards Aerith’s disregard for herself reaching a peak.

Tifa recognized the distress etched on her friend’s face, similar to what she had witnessed in the sewers, when they had listened to Leslie, the former Corneo henchman, relaying the story of his fiancee's disappearance.

She returned her gaze to the starry sky, musing about everything that had been said.

_Star-crossed lovers, huh?_

“You’ll just have to do better this time around then.”

Cloud rubbed a hand across his face to make sure no tears of frustration had escaped, then turned to Tifa. “What do you mean ?”

Tifa chuckled at his sheepishness.

“I already told you. You gotta do better than this if you want to play the hero.”

_Her hero._

Cloud bit his lip. “I’m no hero. You of all people should know.”

Tifa pursed her lips. “I could have sworn I was saved from certain death a few times during these past few days.”

Cloud scoffed. “As if you didn’t do the same for me.”

“Guess that makes me a heroine then?” She giggled, wondering how much it took from his pride to admit that. She stood up and placed a hand on his slumped shoulder, rubbing it affectionately. “It’s late. Let’s go back to the inn.”

Cloud nodded in agreement and grabbed her offered hand to a stand. 

As they made their way back, Cloud’s thoughts swirled with determination. No matter what he had seen, these visions from the past...the future...it did not matter. Only one thing was certain. He adamantly refused to lose Aerith. Not again.

And he would see to it as her bodyguard, an Ex-Soldier First Class, to keep her safe until the end.


	5. Chapter 5

Despite the lights being turned off, there was still sufficient light from the hallway that spilled beneath their doorway for Tifa to make her way to her bed. All without disturbing the room’s other occupant who was fast asleep. Or was she?

Tifa strained her ear as she changed into her sleepwear consisting of a simple white cotton tank shirt and black shorts. Before she slipped into bed, she hung her sundress into the only closet available to prevent it from further wrinkling. The less worn it appeared to be, the more gil they could hock off of it. 

She carefully rubbed the hem of the dress, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric once more. It was a shame, but they needed to be more conscious of their spendings since they were embarking on a journey leading them to god-knows-where.

Tifa scanned the rest of the articles stored inside, two newly-purchased hoodies, her own regular clothes and Aerith’s pink dress and red jacket. She removed her silver earrings and her bracelet, placing them on the nightstand nestled in between the two single beds, right next to Aerith’s pink ribbon.

Tifa’s gaze rested on the small sphere neatly tucked within the ribbon. It looked to be a materia of some kind, but she had no idea what its purpose could be from its teal color. Aside from the peculiar materia, she noticed the absence of the necklace and bangles that Aerith had worn since the day they met. She searched under the furniture, thinking she might have inadvertently knocked the accessories down.

What she found instead was a familiar shopping bag, sporting the logo of the clothing shop they had visited earlier. She rummaged through it, her eyebrows setting into a frown as her hand brushed upon unexpected items. She grabbed the bag and opened it wide to scrutinize its contents. 

Tifa was met with an assortment of bottles which she assumed to be potions and remedies, essentials for their journey. There was no trace of the red sundress the brunette had bought earlier however, despite making a scene in the shop about how it was a perfect match for the orange sundress she had convinced Tifa to wear for the festival.

Tifa clicked her tongue, exasperated at having been played for a fool by the sleeping woman. She did not even need to look for the sandals Aerith had bought to know they too had already been returned. 

She plopped down audibly on the vacant bed.

“Why?”

Tifa paused for several seconds, giving Aerith a chance to explain herself. However, Aerith only continued with her sleeping charade, further fanning Tifa’s infuriation. 

She turned to her side, facing her unresponsive roommate. “What are you playing at?”

Tifa had to hand it to the Flower girl, she certainly knew how to keep up with the silent treatment. She scoffed before turning to face the opposite wall.

“Don't dump your boy toy on someone else once you’re done playing around.” Tifa bit her lip as soon as the words left her mouth, instantly regretting how spiteful she had sounded.

“I’m not playing around.”

Upon hearing the softly spoken words, Tifa slowly faced her roommate once more, her frustration slowly vanishing. Even if she had only known her for a few days, Tifa knew she must have hit a nerve for the raspy-voiced Aerith to speak up.

“Aerith, I’m sor”—

“That was uncalled for.”

A small smile formed on Tifa’s lips.

“Setting me up like you did wasn’t exactly nice either.”

Aerith could only chuckle humorlessly. “You two obviously like each other. I was just giving you two the push you needed.”

Tifa just stared at her, replaying the events of the last few days in her mind to see what could have possibly given the young woman that impression.

Hearing no answer from her friend, Aerith continued. “The way you look out for each other… It’s pretty cute actually…”

Tifa rolled her eyes at the unconvincing statement. “Cloud is a surprisingly nice guy who cares about his friends.” Her eyes bore into Aerith’s back that was still turned to her. “But you actually know that better than me don’t you?”

Aerith yelped in surprise when she felt something soft collide with her back. She turned around to study the unidentified object, squinting her eyes at it while prodding its soft midsection.

“A…teddy bear ?”

“A gift from Cloud.”

Aerith’s lips curved up slightly as she squished the plush bear’s soft belly. Even in the darkness, she could tell it had a light color.

Not bad, Mr. Ex-Soldier.

“How romantic.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she pondered how nice it must feel to be on the receiving end of such attentiveness.

Tifa huffed at her friend.

“Nothing more romantic than receiving a gift that reminds you of another woman.”

Aerith blinked at her retort, unsure of what she meant. She turned the teddy bear over, squinting her eyes in a bid to catch more details of the gift. Her lips formed a frown as her hands finally came across the small ribbon adorning the bear’s head.

“Tifa…”

“It’s pink, in case you’re wondering.”

Aerith bit her bottom lip, pondering her next words as she actively fought back the warm, fluttery feeling rising in her chest against her better judgement. Her desire to bury her face in the plush toy and cuddle with it became increasingly difficult to avoid. Everything about it felt so soft, so warm and she could only imagine it was just as so in the embrace of a certain someone.

She immediately threw the plush to the wall as though it had fleas.

“He went after you!” Aerith informed in a rather high-pitched voice. “In Don Corneo’s mansion!” 

“I told him to stay out of it.”

“Even then he couldn’t. He went as far as crossdressing for you.”

“Wasn’t that your idea?”

Aerith smiled at the fond memory. It was a strange and beautiful moment that had made her fall even more for the socially awkward “not a dancer” slash cross-dresser that was Cloud Strife. A memory she would always cherish even after pushing him away.

“He still did it. Without question.”

Tifa sighed. If it was an argument her friend wanted, it was an argument she would get. One that she did not plan on losing. “Cloud stormed Shinra HQ for you.”

Even Aerith would not be able to deny the difference of scale in good faith. Storming Shinra, the biggest armed corporation on Gaia, was nowhere comparable to beating a small-time gangster like Don Corneo.

“He resolved to fight Fate for your sake.” Aerith argued back.

Tifa blinked, blindsided by this particular statement.

“What?”

Aerith recalled the particular line uttered by her bodyguard before entering the portal to go after his nemesis. She remembered his body language, how he had turned back towards his childhood friend at that time, making it clear enough whose howling he was talking about at the time.

“I’ve heard enough howling for a lifetime, remember?”

“Aerith.”

“If that’s not love then I”—

“He stormed Shinra HQ, their stronghold, just to get you out.”

Cutting someone off was not something Tifa was accustomed to but she knew it was the only way to get through Aerith. “We’re actually talking about overcoming impossible odds just to save someone he had only met a day prior.”

“I think battling Fate itself is on a whole ‘nother scale.”

Tifa contemplated what they had really done. Fighting and defeating Fate itself was by no means a small feat. Even so...

“You’re wrong.” She mulled over on the man who took everything from her in one night. “Sephiroth was there. And he had to be stopped.”

Aerith had said it herself after all. “That was more than enough for Cloud. He probably didn’t think much on the implications of fighting Fate.” None of them truly did, what with everything else going on.

Except Aerith.

“You know what he understood pretty much though? The odds of getting you out of there… How low they were.” He was not the only one, Tifa herself had shared the same sentiment. “It was complete suicide, but he just kept pushing forward the whole time.”

These thoughts made her question the futility of their endeavor at the time, much to her shame.

But not her childhood friend.

The one time he took command, the first and only where he acted like a true leader, all to make sure they would accomplish their goal and retrieve Aerith.

“He would only speak up to keep me and Barret in check.”

Aerith closed her eyes shut in an effort to compose herself. She knew she was steadily losing ground in an argument she could not afford to lose. Not when she had put in so much effort, after hearing Cloud’s confession, and after seeing the worry in his eyes during their last conversation...

“We’ve only known each other for a few days…”

“Yeah, I don’t know what kind of spell you put on him but it’s quite effective.”

Aerith winced at the words, a reflection of her total failure to fight against the Planet’s predestined path for her bodyguard and herself.

She decided to make one last ditch effort.

“You two go way back, you have a history together.”

“I would trade that history for what you two have anytime.” There was no trace of animosity in Tifa as she voiced out her honest feelings on the whole situation.

“Your connection is real, unlike”—

“He loves you.”

Tifa’s voice was calm and collected when she stated the simple truth. The hints were already there when they first met, from the uncharacteristic familiarity the mercenary exhibited towards the flower girl to the way he called out her name whenever they would get separated.

She recalled Cloud’s sense of urgency when it came to rescuing the Cetra and how he almost verbally clashed with Aerith’s own mother before Tifa stopped him.

_“She’s calling out to me, I can feel it.”_

She did not think much of it at first, and joined him in convincing Elmyra to agree with the near suicidal rescue mission. 

_“Upper floors… Maybe near the top. That’s where you are…”_

Tifa remembered raising an eyebrow when she heard Cloud say that particular line, as if he was directly addressing Aerith despite the physical distance separating the two. As though they shared a spiritual connection. That moment when he pleaded with Barret to get Aerith out while he would buy them time to escape sealed the deal for her.

Their talk tonight had only confirmed her suspicions all along.

Tifa propped herself on her elbow, eyes trained on the brunette. While she could not quite make out the look on her face in the dark, her silence was a dead giveaway to her inner turmoil.

“The question is, how do you feel about him?”

Aerith froze upon being asked to confront her own feelings. The answer to the question was obvious. She loved him. She knew that much. But admitting to it came with too much uncertainty. How genuine was their attraction to each other? And how much of it was a fabrication by the Planet? What good could possibly come out were they to act upon it? 

Still not getting a response, Tifa changed the subject.

“You were right. He’s a great dancer, surprisingly.” She smiled as she heard the brunette giggle softly. “I’ve known him since childhood and I never even suspected it.”

“Everyone has a secret or two they don’t want to share, even to their childhood friend.”

Tifa scoffed, knowing that was not the case. She took a sharp breath, preparing to face the stark reality she had avoided from herself ever since the blond man reentered her life. 

“You said we have history together, a real connection...Truth is, we’ve never been close.” She let out a dry laugh. “The only time we really talked was the day before he left town for Midgar. To enlist.”

Aerith raised herself up to Tifa’s level, listening in rapt attention.

“Nibelheim was a small town. The smallest rumor would blow up and become the talk of town.” She cast her eyes downward, ashamed of what she was about to admit. “All the adults kept talking about Cloud’s dad. Like a pariah. They told us kids to never get involved with their family.”

Aerith’s hands clenched into the bed sheets. Her heart ached hearing such a thing happen to the man she loved as a child. She herself knew how being ostracized felt.

“...What happened?”

Tifa shrugged, not knowing the full story herself.

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him myself. I don’t think Cloud remembers either.” She sighed. “Whatever happened though…the other villagers bore a deep grudge.”

Tifa slowly buried her face in her hands. “We never really questioned them and just avoided him and his mom.” She blinked back some tears. “One day, I fell and scraped my knees, right in front of their house. Claudia took me in to treat my injuries despite how everyone treated her.”

“Claudia?”

Tifa rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes before continuing.

“Cloud’s mom.” She recalled seeing a little boy with blond spikes, shorter than her, sneaking a peek from behind a corner as his mom gently patted her knees with a cotton swab soaked with disinfectant before applying a medicinal paste she made herself.

”I tried to talk to him…But he always ignored us…” She scoffed. “Understandable, considering how we all treated them.”

“You were just a kid.” Aerith reasoned. “It wasn’t your fault…I’m sure he understands as well.”

Tifa looked back at her friend. “I don’t know…He seems to think we were closer than we actually were.” She looked out to the window, to glimpse at the night sky.

“It’s ironic really, he only seems to remember that promise I strong armed him into making, about protecting me. It was our first and only real conversation.”

Aerith followed her friend’s gaze to the starry sky. “That moment you both shared…I’m sure he treasures it to this day. That’s why he remembers it over the rest.”

She flashed a reassuring smile, a gesture Tifa returned, relieved at having finally gotten the secret out of her chest.

The flower girl snickered in amusement. “Cloud is a bonafide sensitive guy all right.”

“That he is.”

They both shared a laugh, welcoming the levity after such tension in their earlier conversation.

Tifa sat up on her bed, her gaze leveled at Aerith’s. “You didn’t answer. How do you feel about him?”

Aerith sat up straighter, as though her posture could offer any help. 

“I don’t know.”

Tifa tilted her head in bewilderment. 

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

Aerith fiddled with a loose strand of hair framing her face.

“Our connection…” Her voice was barely audible. “It’s not normal...” 

Tifa snickered.

“Normal is overrated anyway.”

Aerith stared at her friend, mouth agape. She made it sound so simple.

“The flower you gave him symbolized reunion right? Sounds to me you’re just as head over heels as him.” Tifa continued. “Stop pushing him away. You’re not doing any of yourselves any favor.”

A melancholic smile tugged on Aerith’s lips as she considered it, before a flash of his tear-streaked face she had seen numerous times in her dreams entered inside her head. She tucked the loose strand behind her ear. “I’m the last Cetra alive. Who knows what the Planet has in store for me?”

“A wise person told me once to follow my heart.” urged Tifa with gentle understanding. 

Aerith closed her eyes shut in an attempt to block further images of a grief-stricken Cloud from weighing down her mind. “That person’s adivce sounds dumb.”

Tifa’s face wrinkled at Aerith’s negative reply. “Sounds sensible to me.”

She then stretched herself as she yawned out her next words. “With Fate destroyed, you two can just”—

“You don’t understand.”

Tifa stopped, hearing the uncharacteristic break in Aerith’s voice. Even more surprising was seeing the figure of the ever plucky young woman crumble down and break into muffled sobs. She instinctively launched next to her side, taking her quivering friend under her comfort. 

“Aerith…”

The flower girl kept her hands over her face, as she forcefully tried to suppress the tears. 

She wanted nothing more than to jump into the arms of her beloved bodyguard and enjoy every moment they were lucky to have together. The unmistaken pang of guilt in her heart she felt when he thought she was comparing his eyes to her former love...and how hard parting ways had been in Evergreen park, even though she knew their time together was not yet up, all these proved beyond the shadow of a doubt how much she loved him.

Was it really wrong to try and spare him the possible heartbreak in case anything happened to her? She loved him far too much to make him suffer again. She knew for certain she could not bear it.

Tifa stroked the brunette’s back, in an effort to soothe and comfort her friend. The two women stayed like that for a few more minutes until Aerith started to calm down.

“I don’t want to watch him wither away anymore...” Aerith sounded tired, her words carrying a certain weight, as though she had spent decades going through a neverending nightmare, without ever being able to do anything about it.

Tifa looked to the wall separating their room from the rest of their companions.

“When I arrived in Midgar, I first got a waitressing job in Sector 1.” She stroked the brunette’s hair while relating her story. “Barret came into the bar one night, looking all glum. Obviously, everyone was scared of him so they sent the newbie to get his order.”

A small smile formed on her lips as she recalled their conversation.

“As it turned out, this big guy with a gun grafted onto his arm was feeling bummed because his daughter had been called out by some other kids for not having a mom and she kept crying about it. He didn’t know how to handle it.”

She loosened her embrace as Aerith had stopped crying, the occasional sniffling the only sound she was still making.

“I saw the hurt in his eyes and I figured it must have been hard to not only deal with your own grief but your kid’s as well. That’s why I brought him something strong to forget about everything for the night.”

She beat her chest with her fist, doing her best impression of the Avalanche leader.

“Forget? Who said anything about wanting to forget? No matter how painful it can be at times, it’s thanks to those memories and my daughter that I keep on living.”

Aerith dabbed at her eyes as she let out a watery chuckle.

“So preachy...”

Tifa laughed, having had the exact same reaction.

“Right?”

Despite how cringy it had sounded, that moment struck a chord with Tifa as she had always tried to brush her own past under a rug. That was probably one of the reasons she decided to join Avalanche and their cause.

“Maybe you should stop worrying about what the future holds and just enjoy the time you have together.” Tifa tilted her head to the side, slanting her gaze to meet Aerith’s. “No matter what happens, it’s always better to have memories of the people you love than to spend a lifetime wondering about what could have been.”

Aerith slowly nodded.

Her friend had made a solid case.

Normal was overrated anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

Cloud winced as the floorboards creaked too prominently for his liking as he climbed up the stairs. The former Soldier slowed down to test the remaining next boards. He mentally cursed at himself for his lack of stealth especially when he was without the added burden of his sword. He tried his best to shift his weight for a more discreet footfall.

Maybe Aerith had been right, he pondered, recalling how she badgered him to get a new pair of footwear to go along his new outfit. But he could not see any justification for the added expense it would incur at the time. Until now, of course.

Cloud groaned in frustration as he gave up on the whole silent approach. It did not matter much in the end since he had to extract a certain flower girl out of her room anyway. He still had no clue how he should approach her, hence why he took more time to collect himself before confronting her. 

He stopped dead in his tracks, finding the very person he sought standing in the hallway, one hand still on the doorknob of her room. Too lost in her own thoughts to sense his approach.

Aerith tried to open the door once more to make sure she had locked it properly. She stood there idly, staring at the door knob that separated her from the safety of her room.

For a fleeting moment, the temptation of opening the door to rush back inside beckoned at her. She knew, however, she could not avoid her bodyguard forever, not after the heart to heart she had had with Tifa the night before.

She closed her eyes as she took a deep slow breath, quelling her anxious heart. She could no longer postpone the inevitable. Tifa had already left the room more than an hour ago and it would not be long before her companions would come back to check on her. Especially Cloud, given how much of a worrywart he was.

Aerith fiddled with the hair that fell at the sides of her face, then ran a thumb under her eyes in an effort to reduce the swelling from all the crying she did. Taking one last breath, she nodded to herself, forcing on enough confidence to fool the world, and even herself.

She turned around from the door. And all her composure vanished instantly, nearly tripping as she came face to face with the person she wanted to avoid the most. And the one she wanted to see the most.

Green eyes locked with Mako blue for a split second before both pairs broke contact at precisely the same moment.

_What was going through her mind?_

_How long had he been standing there?_

_What could he do to put her at ease?_

_What could she do to dispel his worries?_

Aerith was the first to compose herself, striking up the first intelligible word between them.

“Heya.”

She shyly raised her downcast eyes to stare at him, rubbing her left wrist where the sleeve of her new jacket covered the spot of where her once-adorned bracelets had been. 

Cloud mimicked the gesture, slowly returning her gaze.

“Hey.”

He wanted to say more but his words were suddenly failing him as relief washed over him. It would have sounded stupid to anyone else, as they had only seen each other just last night, before she stood both Tifa and him up. But seeing her now, just in front of him, alive and well…that was probably everything he could ask for.

Cloud scratched the back of his head, scolding himself for being such an emotional wreck. He quickly blamed it on having had too much time to think since they escaped Midgar.

“You okay?”

Aerith flashed him a small smile before twirling in place. “Don’t I look it?”

The energy of her words was lacking but at least it did not sound as rehearsed, which Cloud decided was an improvement. He scoffed, his lips curving up slightly. Then, his eyebrows shot up as he traced a finger to his own eyes. 

“What’s up with your eyes?”

Aerith stuck a tongue at him, color rising on her cheeks. 

“Don’t mock a girl’s allergies.”

Cloud did not look convinced.

“Allergies?”

Aerith nodded.

“Yeah, dust allergy.”

She tapped the tablecloth hanging on top of the cabinet resting in the hallway next to her, raising up particles invisible to the naked eye. She coughed and sneezed dramatically.

“See?”

Cloud walked up to the aspiring actress, and then ran a finger on the cabinet. He stared intently at his spotlessly clean finger before rubbing it with his thumb.

“Dust, huh?”

Aerith clasped her hands in front of her as she gave him a wink.

“Don’t tell anyone please, it’s embarrassing.”

Cloud looked as though he was about to argue but then decided against it and merely shrugged

“Fine, I won’t tell anyone about your… _dust allergy_.”

“Anyway,” Aerith’s mood lightened significantly. “Why did you come all the way up?” 

Cloud sighed, amazed at how undeterred the woman was at having her blatant excuses exposed so easily. “I was just going to drag you out of your room. The brunch buffet ends in an hour”—

Right on cue, Aerith’s stomach emitted a drawn out growl.

“...You should eat something.”

Aerith patted her belly with a nervous laugh.

“One more secret between us?”

Cloud crossed his arms as his brows furrowed at her. 

“Secret? What secret?”

Aerith giggled, happy to see him play along.

Hearing her carefree laugh, Cloud felt a smile tug at his lips, the sight of which sobered Aerith. Soon, they found themselves staring at each other again. But when Cloud’s gaze drifted downwards from her face, she made an outraged squeal and punched his arm playfully?

“Where do you think you’re looking?”

“There’s something different about you.”

Aerith tilted her chin up as she strained her neck to give him a better view.

“I call this the all-natural impossible-to-detect makeup look. Like what you see?” She raised a hand and gave it a haughty flick of the wrist, while the other hand rested on her hip.

Cloud rolled his eyes at her theatrics. “No wonder I couldn’t see anything. That style sure lives up to its name.”

Aerith folded her arms behind her head, striking yet another pose.

“Right? Madam M would be proud!”

Cloud rubbed his chin as he continued to examine her handiwork. “Must have taken a long time to apply all that makeup.”

Aerith sighed dramatically as she bemoaned in agreement. “You have no idea. And she called me a plain jane. Now you know what took me so long.”

Cloud sighed as well, before jerking his head towards the opposite end of the hallway.

“Yeah, yeah…now go eat something before you drop.”

“With pleasure!” hummed Aerith as she skipped ahead.

“Aerith, wait.”

She turned back around, head tilted sideways as she eyed her bodyguard.

“Yes, Cloud?”

“I have to go out for a bit. Can you tell the others I’ll meet up with you all later to talk about what’s next.”

Aerith nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“You’re not coming to eat?”

Cloud stepped closer to her, giving her a light flick on the forehead.

“I’m an early bird, unlike some people.”

Aerith rubbed at her forehead, pouting at her bully.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. No need to be an ass, Mr. Ex-Soldier First Class.”

Cloud smirked before turning for the door of the room he shared with Barret and Red XIII.

He only stopped in his tracks when two small delicate hands grabbed hold of his wrist.

“Be safe.”

He gave her hands a reassuring pat.

“Just a small errand I have to take care of. I won’t be long.”

With that, the two parted ways, both smiling to themselves, content at having their first real conversation in what felt like an eternity.

* * *

“So what did you want to talk about?”

Cloud made a final check on the group’s hard earned materia before locking the container that kept the small orbs of condensed magic safe. He then addressed Barret. 

“I think we should talk about our next course of action before leaving Kalm.”

Red XIII got up from his previously curled up position in the corner of the room.

“I concur. The more information we have on our enemy, the better our chances will be in our hunt.”

Tifa drew one of the available chairs closer to the others to join in the conversation, followed by Aerith. “I agree. But where should we begin?”

Cloud turned to Tifa.

“I guess we should start where it all began.”

Tifa visibly tensed as she realized the meaning of his words.

“...Nibelheim.”

Cloud nodded, his eyes scanning the rest of the group who had gathered in a small circle in front of him, eager to hear the story that helped start the path they were all taking. He took a deep breath, sparing one last look at his childhood friend, who was fidgeting nervously from having to relive the trauma she had tried so hard to forget. He relaxed when he saw Aerith give his friend a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, which gave him the push to begin. 

“Here’s what happened, five years ago…”

Retelling the Nibelheim incident in detail was not exactly an easy task for Cloud, and even though five years had already passed, the pain was still fresh on his mind. As were the details. The burning sensation that filled his lungs when he stood in the plaza of his hometown, set ablaze by the man he considered his hero. The stinging in his eyes from the blackened smoke that billowed from the flames of his collapsing house. His beloved mother inside...

Still, he pushed through the pain of his memories, for the sake of enlightening his companions, sparing no details and going over all the small anecdotes that could help them understand what they were up against.

He made sure to point out the immense gap in fighting prowess between him, a rookie Soldier who got knocked out in one hit by the first dragon they encountered on the road to Nibelheim, and the legendary war hero, Sephiroth, who dispatched the creature without so much as a sweat.

Cloud mentioned how surprised he had been to have Tifa act as their guide to lead their party of four, two Soldiers and two low-ranked infantrymen, deep into Mount Nibel to deal with the sudden influx of monsters around the local mako reactor. He also mentioned visiting his mother, although he did not dwell much on it, to avoid the weight of his own loss.

He went on to emphasize how much of a role model Sephiroth had been to him and the Shinra troops at large up to that point, which made his fall from grace all the more shocking. All this happening in the span of a week, after discovering the horrible secret experimentation held in the mako reactor.

Cloud illustrated to them how the former hero locked himself up in the underground laboratory, where he binged on all the related reports he could find on Jenova and the experiments conducted, such as the ones by a certain professor Gast, and then Hojo that eventually led to his creation. A replica of a long bygone race.

“Sephiroth isn’t a Cetra.”

Cloud shot his gaze to Aerith, who had brazenly interrupted to correct his mistake, her eyes unwavering as she repeated her words with renewed determination.

“He isn’t a Cetra and neither is Jenova.”

The blond nodded to acknowledge the distinction before returning to his story.

Although Sephiroth may not have been a Cetra, his strength was still inhuman. By the time Cloud finally got out of the mansion he was staying in, right after witnessing Sephiroth’s descent into madness, Nibelheim had already been reduced to a fiery inferno, including his and Tifa’s house.

He remembered Zangan, Tifa’s martial arts teacher, asking him to aid him in his search for survivors. Following his directions, he rushed past the infantryman lying face down in the dirt in front of the Strife household to check for his mom.

Cloud paused to compose himself. He could not recall much about what he had found in his home. Not that he ever really wanted to. He had probably blocked it out of his memory for his own sanity.

He skipped to the part where he witnessed the unhinged murderer cutting down his latest victims, coating the nearby walls with blood splatters before torching the remaining buildings with a barrage of firaga spells.

The shiver he felt down his spine when Sephiroth looked at him amidst the flames before walking off still haunted his mind.

Despite his fear, Cloud had no choice but to press on after the madman. And forgiveness was out of the question. Just as Sephiroth’s katana, the Masamune, had been drenched in the townspeople's blood, his own sword would partake in the former general’s own. Cloud would make sure of that.

Tifa grabbed the sides of her chair, hunkering herself down to make sure she would not bolt up and leave as soon as her dad’s name came up. She listened as Cloud told the others how he had found her younger self hunched over her deceased father, his bloodied figure lying down next to the discarded katana that had wrought senseless death everywhere. She silently thanked her blond friend for having the decency to gloss over her dad’s injuries and her own as he explained how he had failed to stop her from running after their nemesis, his sword in hand, to exact revenge, only to get cut down herself.

Still…

Cloud finally reached an abrupt end to his story, his tale stopping just before his confrontation with his former hero.

“That’s everything that happened.”

Barret was the first to speak up.

“What do you mean that’s everything? How did you even survive against that maniac?”

Cloud shook his head, mirroring Barret’s confusion.

“I don’t know… There’s no way I could have been able to take him on by myself and yet here I am. Why didn’t he kill me?”

The gunman rubbed his temple as he tried to figure out what could have led to this outcome.

“Makes no goddamn sense indeed.”

“Hey Cloud…how was I…when you found me?”

Cloud blinked at Tifa before answering truthfully.

“It was bad…I thought you were gone…I was…”

Tifa held his gaze, searching for any trace of confusion. She replayed Barret’s words in her mind when she could find none.

Aerith studied her bodyguard sitting across from them, his hands folded in front of him and his head hanging low in defeat. She knew him enough to imagine what must be going through his head. Blaming himself for not being able to prevent Tifa’s injury and her father’s murder, the burning of Nibelheim…the murder of his own mother…

The Cetra was about to get up when she heard something unexpected.

“I think…you’re mistaken.”

The group all turned their attention to Tifa who licked her lips as she chose her next words carefully.

“Everything you said is accurate…frighteningly so…and yet…”

Cloud tensed up, the mako in his eyes flaring up as his eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean…?”

Ever since Cloud had reentered her life, the last remnant of her past, Tifa had known something was off. From his misremembered timeframe to this whole childhood friends belief... At first she had started to doubt her own memories. After all, she had fallen under a deep coma twice in her life. First was when she fell off Mount Nibel and when she nearly got killed by Sephiroth.

But after all that she had just heard from his mouth, she knew Cloud had fared no better. She glanced furtively at the woman sitting next to her before continuing.

“Five years ago… A group of two Soldiers and two infantrymen came to investigate the Nibelheim Mako reactor.”

She clenched her jaw to keep her voice steady as she uttered the name she loathed more than Shinra itself.

“The war… hero… himself, Sephiroth…”

Cloud could not understand the sudden dread he felt. He knew this story by heart. Who wouldn’t after experiencing such a traumatic event? So why was he scared of what was about to be revealed?

“And a raven-haired Soldier First Class, wielding a gigantic broadsword...”

Tifa pointed at the Buster sword resting against the wall behind Cloud.

“Raven-haired? You telling me that Spikes bleaching his hair”—

Cloud ignored Barret’s comment.

“ _Tifa_.”

She looked back into Cloud’s eyes.

“Are you trying to suggest...” his low voice rapidly gained volume as he went on, “...that everything I just told you is bullshit?!” 

Tifa flinched when he slammed his fist on his thigh. She saw the hurt in his eyes at being essentially called a liar by her. In front of everyone. But just as she had told Aerith to be honest with herself, she had to hold herself to the same standard as well. Not only for her own sake, but also for Cloud’s. As his real friend.

“It’s what I remember.” She said.

Cloud shot up, kicking back his chair in the process.

“Then you’re the one misremembering! I was there that day! When Sephiroth burned the village! When he killed everyone! When he killed mo”—

“Soldier First Class, Zack Fair.”

Aerith squeezed her eyes upon hearing the name, her heart deadly calm.

Cloud, on the other hand, felt as though his brain had been split apart without warning. He held his head in both hands, squeezing the sides in an attempt to make the pain go away.

“Z-Zack?” He lifted his head up, recalling something important. His eyes sought Aerith’s. 

Aerith slowly opened her eyes. She stared into Cloud’s panic-stricken face and with heavy reluctance, nodded. 

“He’s the one I talked about...in the park…”

She blinked away the tears as she watched him absorb her words. Then, his face turned into a scowl, features etched with dejection and hurt as though she had just betrayed him in the worst possible way.

Aerith stood and reached for her bodyguard’s hand but he slapped it away.

“ _Get away from me!_ ”

Cloud slowly backed away from them, pointing at each of his four companions with accusation.

“ _So you all think I’m crazy?!_ ”

His back soon crashed against the Buster sword in the wall behind him. Cloud spun around to stare at the forged steel he had gotten from…

_...Where exactly did he get it?_

_How?_

Too many questions without an answer.

Cloud kicked the sword in anger before bolting out of the room.

The rest of the group stood quietly, trying to process what had just happened.

“Cloud…” Aerith called out his name softly, wobbling forward on her feet before breaking into a full sprint out the door.

“Hey!” Barret shouted after her, before turning to Tifa and Red. “We should go after him too!”

He strode to the door, his hand resting on the frame as he waited for them.

“Tifa?”

Tifa moved to the window, just in time to watch the Cetra run past a couple that had been knocked down.

“He’ll be fine.”

It might have just been wishful thinking on her part. But she knew the only person who could help Cloud right now was the person who had already taken off.

Red XIII looked at his two remaining companions, his mind replaying the events that had just occurred. 

A gripping tale where nothing was what it seemed at first glance.

“...Fascinating.”


	7. Chapter 7

Cloud ran as fast as his legs could carry him, knocking down innocent people in his path. Not quick enough to avoid him, his victims resorted to flinging angry insults at his retreating back. 

Cloud paid no heed to any of them, however, focusing only on putting as much distance between him and his traveling companions back at the inn. He needed to get away from them all. His so-called friends, that sword, and from his accursed past.

He stopped in the middle of a crowded street, needing relief from his burning lungs. He tried to work through his ragged breathing, taking gulps of air to fend off the panic attack plaguing him.

“What an interesting turn of events.”

That voice. A slow, sinister register that had tormented him ever since that fateful night in Nibelheim. 

He whipped his head around to find Sephiroth, towering over the crowd of oblivious onlookers.

“Who would have thought your lies would be exposed so early?”

Sephiroth took a step forward, followed by another. Cloud’s honed Soldier senses screamed at him, urging him to run away from the monster who had ruined his life.

Just as he prepared to flee, he caught a glimpse of the Masamune, the evil blade that took everything from him. He watched in horror as the blade cast an ominous shadow in the middle of the sidewalk. Flashes of Sephiroth slaughtering his fellow villagers flooded his mind.

“Everyone! Run!”

Cloud desperately yelled at the top of his lungs, attracting the attention of confused onlookers.

Instead of heeding his advice though they all looked at him as though he was nothing but a deranged lunatic. He could hear the whispers rippling among them, derogatory names spilling from their hushed lips. He was just a crazy foreigner. A mako junkie, A delusional punk.

Cloud’s eyes darted from one sneering face to another, staring him down like he was some sort of freak. 

He was not a freak! Never had been! Despite the rumors spread about him and his mother by the people of his hometown. 

He was a Soldier First Class! An elite deserving of respect and recognition. Someone to admire. Someone who would never have to be alone again, and be surrounded by people who would adore him. Love him.

“A failure.”

His nemesis had somehow snuck up on him undetected, whispering his chilling words into his ear. A strong hand rested on the top of Cloud’s bare shoulder, anchoring him to his spot.

“You, Cloud Strife, are a fraud, a nobody who only lives on the backs of the people who sacrificed themselves to save your pitiful existence.” The taller man tightened his bone shattering grip on the blond. “Like your mother, who burned to death while you just stood there and watched.”

It was not true. He did not just watch. He went inside their home to check. Inside, he had found—Cloud’s eyes widened in horror as he recalled the burning house. Like an outsider, just watching, weakly crying for his mother. Powerless. Not even having the strength to drag himself into his house.

“Your friend, Zack, who saved you from Hojo’s experiments.”

He remembered being surrounded in green mako. People in white coats gathered around him. They eyed him like a lab rat, injecting him with whatever chemicals they had at hand. Cloud could do nothing but stare blankly, his body convulsing from every new needle they inserted into his skin.

“A friend you repaid by purging him from your memories and inserting yourself in his stead.”

Cloud choked back a sob, recalling the desolate landscape that surrounded Midgar. The incessant screaming and gunfire. The river of blood washed away by rainwater.

He saw in his mind the fallen figure of the man who had given his life to protect Cloud’s catatonic self. The shell of an unremarkable person that only survived because he was not worth wasting a bullet to end his misery.

He recalled dragging the lump of metal called the Buster sword across the desert, struggling to even lift it, much less use properly. A symbol of Soldier first Class Zack Fair that he miserably clung to as a denial of his demise, which eventually turned into a symbol of his denial of everything that had gone wrong in his life.

“To your credit, you may not have been a Soldier First Class…”

That was why he could not remember anything about being a Soldier. Of course, he was a nobody. Only good enough to become a lowly infantryman. A grunt. He was no different from the numerous ones he had mercilessly cut down without a second thought as a mercenary. How many of them did he know? How many of them were his former comrades? How many of them did he slice in half without a shred of remorse? 

“But you were quite the sneaky one.”

Always trying hard to be noticed. Wanting to fit in with the other children. But he never garnered their interest, so he pretended to be better than them. Playing make-pretend by himself. Because deep down, he could not face the truth. He was just a worthless boy. 

He was not a man either. He could not even take Sephiroth on in a fair fight. Instead, he snuck up on him like a coward, with sword in hand. But even then, he still could not kill the bastard. 

Yes, he truly was a failure.

“Leave him alone!”

Cloud turned around to locate the source of the voice.

There in the distance, he spotted Aerith. Despite his bleary vision, he managed to make out the fine details of her face as she stared down in his direction, her green eyes narrowed at Sephiroth. Her cheeks were flushed and hair disheveled, and was out of breath from running.

"Ah, the Cetra. Ever the entertaining one."

In what had felt like forever, the silver haired man finally released Cloud. 

“Both in life…”

Then, to Cloud’s horror, the madman started making his way towards Aerith. 

“And in death.”

Aerith tried not to feel self-conscious as the people around them intensified their whispering. 

They did not matter. There were more important things to worry about. She watched as Cloud took a clumsy step towards her, his arm trying to grab hold of something he alone could see. 

She saw his mouth move, but heard no words. But his lips formed the words of Sephiroth’s name, as though pleading him to stop. Real or imagined, Aerith could not just stand idle. 

“Cloud is stronger than you’ll ever be!”

Aerith believed in her own words. No matter how hard it got for him, Cloud never stopped trying to move forward, even if he had to crawl at times.

Her bodyguard steadily increased his pace, yelling at the empty space separating them, renewing his pleas at the invisible figure to stop.

A small smile broke over her face.

“No matter what you do, you’ll never break him.”

The former war hero stopped in his tracks to burst into maniacal laughter.

“You will never break, she says? Even though you already have ages ago?”

Cloud ran frantically towards his nemesis to stop him from hurting Aerith. He came to an abrupt halt as the imaginary Masamune was suddenly thrust back at him, impaling him right in the middle of his chest.

“I told you not to get cocky with me, puppet.”

The burning sensation caused by the imaginary blade felt eerily familiar. From the deepest recesses of his fragile mind, he conjured memories long buried. Cloud remembered the Masamune, how it easily pierced both his uniform and his flesh five years ago, when he went after Sephiroth, trying to finish off the lunatic at Zack’s behest.

“...Cloud?”

Aerith called out to Cloud, who went suddenly still. Then, she furrowed her brows in worry when he took a firm grasp of his own shirt, gasping for air. She heard his barely audible plea, telling her to run.

She straightened her posture, beaming at him confidently.

“There’s no need to run, not when you’re with me.”

Not a moment after she said that did it dawn on Aerith. She had seen that look on Cloud’s face. The familiar pain in his eyes she had seen dream after dream. The horror that was etched on his handsome features when he watched her die at the hands of Sephiroth. But then...there was also something different, something she had never seen before. A spark of determination within the mako. 

Cloud let out a guttural roar as he lunged forward, to bring down the man who was trying to take everything away from him again, including the person he had sworn to protect. The love of his life.

Sephiroth vanished as soon as Cloud barreled towards him, leaving only the Cetra in his field of vision. He crashed into her at full speed, sending the pair rolling onto the ground.

People immediately began dispersing. Some of them ran off to seek help from authorities, to arrest a blond junkie jumping on an innocent woman. The full force of Cloud’s tackle addled Aerith for a few seconds. Then, as she slowly regained herself, she heard a desperate voice echoing her name. She opened her eyes and felt water drip down her face. No, they were tears. Tears that belonged not to her, but the man holding her. 

He began a litany of apologies. For hurting her despite his promise to protect her. For not being Zack, the hero she deserved. For not even being the person he had claimed to be when they first met. For involving her in his life.

Nonsense, all of it. They were words she never wanted to hear.

Aerith cupped his cheeks with both hands, tenderly caressing his face before brushing off his blond bangs. 

She had already concluded long ago how different Cloud and Zack were. From the superficial aspects, such as their face, hair, and build. Cloud obviously lacked a few inches in his height. Then, there were more intimate details like personality. His awkwardness, his shyness, but most importantly, he had the kindest heart beneath a facade that tried to act indifferent. A tough guy act that could be cringy at times. 

Aerith felt her heart flutter. 

He was just a country boy from Nibelheim.

A man who managed to steal her heart. 

Aerith pulled his head down, and she leaned up to press her lips to his. This certainly was not how she envisioned her first kiss to take place, on the dirty pavement with an unresponsive partner, but it was not going to stop her from conveying an important message to his broken heart. 

Unspoken words she wished she could have said in her previous life. Precious words she had longed to tell him when she had been watching over him from the life stream. 

He was Cloud Strife and he was more than enough for anyone in this world, let alone herself.

The man she loved. 

Cloud broke away from her, a stupefied expression on his face as he watched Aerith turn red with embarrassment. 

“W-Why? I’m not...”

He could not finish his thought. He had no right to utter the name after everything he did.

An affectionate smile broke on her lips, as she tightened her hold on his cheeks, partly to enjoy his warmth, and partly afraid of ever letting go.

“I know.”

“He… died… because of me…”

Aerith slowly shook her head, her heart aching at finally learning the grim fate of her first love and the unbearable guilt crushing her bodyguard’s soul.

“He brought us together.”

This only furthered Cloud’s confusion. He laid his hands on top of hers and asked.

“...Why... Me…?”

Aerith rolled her eyes through her own tears.

“Because you’re you, you silly goose.”

She wiped the tears from the corner of his eyes with her thumbs.

“That’s why you’re special.”

This time, the Cetra did not need to use any modicum of strength to bring the fake Soldier down.

She brought their lips together again, this time he melted against their second kiss. To Aerith’s delight, he deepened it, causing her to sigh and wrap her arms around his neck.

* * *

Tifa sighed in relief from behind the street corner before facing the rest of her companions.

“See? I told you they’d be fine.”

Barret clicked his tongue. 

“Fine? Spikes looks anything but fine to me.”

Tifa chuckled as she watched Cloud’s stunned expression to Aerith’s kiss.

Red XIII’s ears twitched back, deciphering hurried footsteps heading in their direction.

“I hate to ruin the moment but I think we should get out of here.”

Guards. Not a surprise considering the show their friends were still putting on in the middle of a public area. 

Tifa jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the couple. “So who’s going to tell them?”

Red XIII and Barret eyed Tifa with a painfully obvious answer on their faces. _Not me._

Tifa sighed. She should have expected as much.

“Men...” She muttered under her breath as she made her way towards the Cetra and her bodyguard.

_No consideration at all for a woman still nursing from a heartbreak._

Still, a genuine smile with a hint of pride crept onto her face as she watched her friends get lost inside a tender embrace, oblivious to everything going around them.

She rolled her eyes as she picked up the pace, running towards them. 

Getting arrested for public indecency was the last thing their party needed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I just wanted to apologize for the long wait, but life has been busier these past couple of weeks. Also, I would like to encourage everyone to play 13 sentinels: Aegis Rim. It’s a shame a game with that kind of writing will probably largely go unnoticed. As always, thanks to all of you who have followed the story so far.

Cloud bowed down in apology to his traveling companions, an act of humility he had never done in his lifetime. 

“Everyone…I’m sorry.... I don’t know what to say, I...” He found himself struggling with his own words, unsure to how to explain given his earlier behavior. 

“ _Cloud…_ ”

He straightened his posture when he felt Aerith’s warm hand resting on his back. It was a simple gesture, one that Aerith hoped would provide enough emotional support for her bodyguard to overcome the wall he still needed to climb. 

Cloud turned to look at her, and immediately took notice of the frown on her face. His shoulders relaxed and he gave her a small smile to alleviate her concerns. He was going to be fine, especially with her by his side. Mostly. 

He tentatively brushed his arm against her, gently pushing it off his back. 

Aerith reluctantly removed her hand, her eyes trained on him the whole time. She could not help but be worried for him and the bitter memories he was forced to recall. Before she backed away, she grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze, which he returned. 

Cloud moved his gaze along the other three occupants of the room, mustering up all his courage for his admission.

“I-I never made it into Soldier.” His companions remained silent, giving Cloud time to ponder his next words. “I made up all these stories about being in Soldier, after hearing it from… my friend… ”

The blond swallowed the knot that formed in his throat, remembering the man who had saved him from the life of a human experiment. 

“...Zack.” The name felt so foreign for Cloud to say. It was a name he had completely forgotten, and he was ashamed for it. He shook his head. He could no longer afford to ignore his past anymore.

Barret was the first to speak from the group.

“So you never went back to Nibelheim?”

Cloud hung his head low as he revealed the true extent of his involvement with the Sinra company. “I did… As a regular infantryman in Shinra’s army…”

An average infantryman, clad in the signature blue uniform and red light helmet they had seen countless times during their climb through Shinra’s HQ, equipped with a standard issued machine gun, with no remarkable magic at his disposal.

Tifa gasped in realization at what she had never suspected.

“It was you…” She recalled the short and scrawny infantryman. The one who had barred her from following after the two Soldiers inside the Mako reactor. She grabbed hold of Cloud’s muscular arms, which were a far cry from what they had been five years ago, and started shaking him.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Cloud averted his eyes in embarrassment, his demeanor showing no trace of the stoic confidence everyone had grown accustomed to. “I left the village chasing after fame and glory... I was too ashamed to see anyone…”

Tifa followed his gaze down to the floor, easing on her grip. She had no right to complain about him not saying anything. Not when she had had an active role in furthering her poor friend’s insecurity, when he could not uphold his promise to become the hero she had wanted him to be.

Slowly, she let go, muttering an apology as her arms fell to her side.

Despite having mostly come to terms with the real nature of their relationship back then, Tifa still felt hurt that the mercenary had not felt comfortable enough to reveal himself during his last visit. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. There was no point mulling about it now. She had made her peace about becoming his real friend, and she would make good on that promise. 

Still, another thing crossed Tifa’s mind. 

“... Did you at least visit your mom?”

Cloud clenched his jaw, the image of his mother coming to him. Claudia had always been supportive of her son and knew she would keep his visit a secret, but he was still hesitant about it. He only gave in with Zack’s insistent advice to visit. Cloud was grateful he did. Being able to spend time with his mother. Even if it was for the last time. 

“I did.” He finally admitted and Tifa sighed in relief. 

“Tifa...” Cloud continued, “You’ve been kind to me ever since we met up again, and yet…”

Tifa held up a hand, stopping his line of thought.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Still, after seven years”— 

" _Five years._ " A small smile broke on Tifa's face as she corrected him. Though his timeline of the events were skewed, his memories were still solid. “And that’s what friends are for.” She held up a fist towards him, looking up at him expectantly. 

Cloud stared at the balled-up hand in confusion at first. Tifa rolled her eyes, motioning him on what to do. She had been denied a high-five before, no way was she letting him cheat her out of a fist bump as well. 

Cloud lightly chuckled as he regarded Tifa with a smile. Then, he bumped his knuckles against her own. It was awkward, but was nonetheless a step in the right direction.

Barret then broke the moment of camaraderie with an audible huff.

“An infantryman, huh. So you were just a grunt?”

Cloud switched his attention towards the gruff man. “I made up an ideal version of myself, combining stories I heard from Zack, and what I had seen in my life. That’s who I am. The master of my own illusion.”

Barret stroked his chin in thought.

“That’s one hell of an illusion.”

Cloud shrugged at his skeptical companion.

“I did have the same procedure as a Soldier candidate though.” He folded his arms as he explained. “Soldier candidates aren’t simply exposed to Mako energy. They’re injected with Jenova’s cells."

His left hand unconsciously clenched around his right bicep as he revealed to them the horrible truth of Shinra’s esteemed Soldier program.

A deafening silence befell the room, trying to process this new piece of information.

Red XIII was the first to recover from the initial shock.

“Jenova… That alien lifeform we fought?”

Cloud nodded, confirming what his young body had been subjected to in the hands of the Shinra scientists. In the hands of that man.

_Hojo._

Aerith was not one for insults, but this was the name she would use the whole extent of her vocabulary to curse to hell and back. The man who had not only ruined her mother’s life and Zack’s as she had just learned, but also Cloud’s. 

She could practically smell the stench of the bespectacled monster permeating the air while listening to the nauseating details Cloud was now sharing with the group. 

Tifa brought a hand to her mouth in an attempt to conceal her disgust.

“How could they…”

Barret scoffed. He was disgusted but could not say he was surprised, given the person they were talking about.

“Sounds like they were trying to create monster”—

“Barret!” admonished Tifa, her eyes burying holes into the large man’s skull.

The unsavory comparison did not seem to faze Cloud though.

“Monsters…sounds about right knowing that son of a bitch...”

Tifa clenched her firsts, her mind still processing everything she had just heard.

"When did it all happen?" She asked Cloud.

He closed his eyes as he tried to estimate the timeframe of the experiments.

If the Nibelheim incident happened five years ago…

“We were taken into custody right after I threw Sephiroth in the Mako.”

If the experiments started right after that…

“Hojo isn’t one to wait. Probably couldn’t wait to play with his new toys, so…”

If Zack had set for Midgar as soon as he broke them out of the Shinra Mansion…

“I think I’ve been stuck inside that Mako tank for at least four years.”

He ran a hand through his hair, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.

Four years stuck in that tank, maybe five, time lost that he would never recover.

Cloud was startled back when Aerith grabbed hold of his hand. He looked up to her green eyes, feeling a sense of calm wash over him. 

“I don’t get it.” said Tifa. “Why would they do that to Soldier candidates if it just…”

She let her sentence hang, immediately wishing she could take back her words, feeling she was being insensitive to Cloud’s state. 

“The procedure does enhance your physical attributes.” Cloud said. He saw no point denying it. His feats in battle, especially in their fight against Sephiroth would not have been possible if not for the combination of Mako and alien cells bolstering his capabilities.

“However…” He added. “Only the strong can withstand the procedure.”

People like Zack. Or Sephiroth.

“As for the weak, like myself”—

“You’re not weak.”

Cloud turned his attention back to Aerith, who was still clutching his hand. He was about to refute her but the determination in her striking green eyes stopped him. 

“A weak person would have given up a long time ago after all this.” She stated, giving his fingers a squeeze. 

Cloud appreciated her faith in him, he truly did. But he would have been deceiving himself to not admit his own limitations. He simply had not been strong enough to withstand the experiments and had it not been for Zack busting him out of his containment cell, Cloud would still be nothing more than a lump of unresponsive flesh referred to by serial number, concealed in the basement inside the Shinra Mansion.

His thoughts must have been on his face, as Aerith continued on her insistence. 

“A weak person would have lashed out at the world upon finding the truth. And you did neither.” Aerith released his hand in order to capture his face in order to have his undivided attention. “That’s because you, Cloud Strife, are not weak.”

She stroked his cheeks with her thumbs before grinning.

“Don’t ever forget that, my bodyguard.”

“A perfectly made point if I ever heard one.”

Red XIII interrupted the couple, reminding them of their surroundings.

“Red is right, Aerith has a point.” said Tifa, stepping towards them to give them both a pat on the back. “But I thought she already made that abundantly clear a while ago.”

Cloud and Aerith immediately broke away, finding sudden interest on the wooden floor, their faces bright red in embarrassment at the reminder of their earlier public display. 

Barret cleared his throat.

“Everything is good and all, but I have one complaint.”

He narrowed his eyes at the fake Soldier.

“Spikes here was never a Soldier. And yet he offered his services posing as one. With a price to match.” The Avalanche leader rubbed his index and thumb together for emphasis as he punctuated his next words. “I. Demand. A. Refund!” 

The group stared back at the large man, astonished at his claim.

Cloud crossed his arms as he glanced back with his signature deadpan expression. 

“... Really?”

Barret shook his fist at the blond.

“You made me cough up the dough back there, you scammer!”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “...Was my work unsatisfactory?”

As far as Cloud knew, the man had nothing to complain about. Otherwise he would not have waited this long to make his grievance known.

Barret scratched the back of his head as he tried to hold his footing in the argument.

“Well, not exactly...but that still qualifies as false advertising, right?”

Red XIII tilted his head up to Tifa. “What is he talking about?”

Tifa nervously chuckled. “We hired Cloud to…disrupt Shinra activities and help the Planet.”

“By bombing their reactors.” Cloud said, not missing a beat.

Red XIII blinked with more confusion. “So…are you telling me...all three of you are terrorists?”

“Environmentalists!” roared Barret. 

“I’ve always been curious, how much did you pay him for that job?” Aerith asked, tapping a finger to her chin, curious how much the job paid. 

Barret seemed hesitant to answer, sheepishly looking away before admitting “...Two thousand gil.”

Aerith could not believe what she was hearing. 

“... _That’s it?!_ That’s so cheap! I could make twice more selling a basket of flowers!”

“And you ask for a refund?” Cloud snorted as he pointed an accusatory finger at his detractor. “I didn’t even get paid for the second job.”

“Could have still thrown a First Class customer service in to go along with it…” Barret muttered under his breath.

Cloud snickered. “Because you think a real Soldier First Class would have been easier to deal with?”

Tifa quickly tried to break the tension. “That’s enough, you two. What’s done is done, right Aerith?”

She turned towards the brunette who was still lost in thought, her arms crossed with a hand over her mouth.

Tifa approached the flower girl, wondering what she was muttering to herself. “Aerith…?”

“That cheap...to bomb a reactor no less…compared to what I owe him to become my bodyguard...”

Tifa did not follow. “What you owe him to become your bodyguard...?”

“Anyway!” Cloud cleared his throat, successfully garnering the attention of the group, who all looked to him in confusion, minus one smirking flower girl. The time was ripe to move on to another topic.

“Now that you all know everything…”

Red XIII looked out the window to the clear blue sky.

“Where to next?”

Aerith’s lips settled back into a straight line, all traces of humor vanishing instantly.

“...The temple of Ancients.”

The whispers of Fate might have been defeated and the future freed from its predetermined path, but without knowing the full scope of their enemy’s goal and everything that entailed, they had no choice but to rely on the information she had gleaned from their past lives.

“Sephiroth’s headed there. For the black materia.”

The black materia, an orb of destructive magic that should have never come to existence. Aerith could not fathom what compelled her ancestors to create such a dangerous artifact. 

Barret looked at the flower girl, skepticism written all over his face. While the girl was a Cetra, he still found it hard to believe she would instinctively know where to go just like that.

“Hold on a second. How do you know for sure?”

Red XIII was also intrigued and asked. “What’s this Black materia?” 

“First time I’m hearing anything about it.”

Tifa moved closer to Red XIII as she too was curious of this mysterious artifact.

“Aerith… Tell us everything.”

Aerith looked up to meet the plea in her bodyguard’s eyes.

Answers. 

That’s what he wanted.

Her side of the story. No restraints. 

She nodded, earning a small appreciative smile from him. Her eyes darted back and forth from each member of the group before speaking up.

“...Ever since I was little, I used to get these dreams, visions, whatever you want to call them…”

“...Of the future ?” Cloud asked, praying she would affirm it. 

“I don’t think so. Rather…memories from a past life.”

His heart sank. Instead of a future yet to be determined, one that could be altered, her words confirmed what he had already come to suspect.

That he had already lost her at one point.

“Memories from a past life…” Tifa massaged her temples, trying to make sense of what her friend had just said. “Of the future?”

“Again, makes no goddamn sense!” Barret cursed, failing to understand himself.

“Actually…”

The group turned towards Red XIII, with hope that their canine companion could shed some light on the matter.

“Grandpa”— Red XIII caught himself. Almost slipped. “My _grandfather..._ said that all memories from any point in time are stored within the lifestream.”

The four-legged mammal sat down before raising his left paw to his snout.

“All these memories and experiences are retained within, as they are what shape this entire planet and all the living beings it encompasses. Theoretically, if one considers that the flow of time as we conceptualize it doesn’t apply to the lifestream and all our memories and experiences exist concurrently within it.. If we are to postulate that the flow of time isn’t linear in the lifestream as one would normally surmise...”

Red XIII looked at Aerith.

“Considering Aerith’s Cetra lineage and natural affinity to the Planet, ergo the lifestream… It might be a stretch, but maybe it is possible to make some memories resonate with others, influencing in turn your knowledge of what we would consider a past self from our mortal point of view. Everything which would happen at any point in time existing in the lifestream at the same time…”

Barret cut through Red XIII’s speech.

“What about those ghosts?”

The canine licked his lips as he readied another explanation. “As I previously said, I assume those were a defense mechanism from the Planet with the goal of making sure events happen according to the memories stored within its lifestream, thus preventing inconsistencies and preserving its integrity.”

Tifa looked down at her feet in confusion. The ghosts she could get, but the other...

“Is it even possible? Sending memories of the future…to someone in the past?”

“My future self…” whispered Aerith. 

Red turned his attention towards Aerith. “You are a Cetra. If we are to accept that the amount of information stored at any point in time, that is to say our memories, is what makes us, well, us…with your attunement to the lifestream, it should theoretically make such a feat possible.”

Tifa kept rubbing her temples as she tried to follow along. “Let me get this straight...Aerith from the future, sent the memories she had experienced at that point in time back to her present self using the lifestream. Is that what you’re saying ?”

The canine nodded.

“Future and present...it’s all just a point of view. Otherwise, yes that’s the gist of it.”

Tifa dropped her hands to her side. “If Cetras can do that. Why not do it earlier? Before”—

“They went extinct?” Aerith finished for her. 

Red XIII ran one claw absentmindedly along the gap separating two wooden boards.

“Maybe they were unable too. Maybe something happened that prompted the other Aerith to do that.”

“Sephiroth.” Cloud said. “...He knows the future as well.”

Red XIII nodded at him.

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe he was the catalyst for it all.”

Tifa waved her arms in protest. “How? I thought he wasn't a Cetra.”

Aerith rested her cheek to her palm. “In that future, he must have found a way to bend the lifestream from within.”

“I’m not a Cetra either.”

The group looked at Cloud, confusion written all over their faces at his random statement. Barret was the one to vocalize their shared sentiment.

“No shit.”

Aerith assumed her thinking pose once more.

“Maybe”—

“You said he found a way to manipulate from within.”

She glanced towards Cloud, furrowing her brows at his sudden insistence.

“Well, it’s nothing more than a guess at this point”—

“You meant, after he returned to the lifestream, right?”

Aerith opened her mouth to reply but was cut short once more.

“After he died, right?”

Aerith lowered her head before peeking up shyly at her bodyguard. She had an idea where this conversation was heading. And she was not the only one.

“Cloud”—

Tifa tried to grab hold of his arm but was gently shrugged off.

Cloud’s focus did not waver from Aerith. He needed to know. “Is that the same for you?”

Barret turned to Red XIII for an answer but the canine only stared at the Cetra, awaiting her answer. Words seemed futile though as the look on her face said it all.

“Cloud…”

“Be honest, I need to know.”

Aerith sighed as she straightened her spine. 

“I told you before.” She said, her unflinching eyes leveled with his gaze. “Everyone dies eventually.”

She tightened her jaw before adding. “Tomorrow, next week, next month...fifty years from now.”

The flower girl smiled at her bodyguard though it did not reach her eyes.

“No matter what, we won’t live forever Cloud. Nobody can.”

Cloud swallowed the knot forming in his throat. Of course, he knew that already. But this was not something he could let go.

“How far can you see into future events?”

Aerith looked out the window to observe the bustling street below.

“... I know—or rather, I _knew_ the broad strokes that lead until the Temple of Ancients.”

“Aerith, please…tell me the truth.”

She winced at the sad constraint of his pleading voice. He was getting too good at seeing through her lies.

“... The forgotten city…that’s my last…memory…”

Cloud instantly made a note to himself. The forgotten city. That’s where he was supposed to lose her. The place he would make sure to avoid this time around.

“Hold it right there.”

The group turned towards Barret.

“You’re telling me…Aerith knew about the plate fall?”

Cloud stepped preemptively between the Avalanche leader and the flower girl.

“Look, Barret. There was nothing”—

“Out of my way, grunt.”

The large man shoved Cloud aside with his good arm before taking another step towards the Cetra.

“You”—

Cloud was ready to lunge at Barret once more but was held back by Tifa. She wanted to know for herself as well.

Aerith returned Barret’s stare.

“...I did.” 

Barret’s initial anger was swiftly extinguished from the torment and unshed tears shimmering in the brunette’s eyes. And though he no longer wanted to press the issue, he still needed to know.

“...How many did we save?”

“Sorry, I don’t know exactly…dozens of people…? A hundred?”

“I meant… _last_ time.”

Aerith nodded slowly before furrowing her brows to recall.

“...The three of you managed to escape.”

Indeed, she remembered seeing Cloud, Tifa, and Barret on the very same platform, only that time it had been through the opened door of a Shinra chopper instead of a videofeed.

“I dropped Marlene at home.”

Both Barret and Tifa sighed in relief at the confirmation the little girl had made it out then as well.

Aerith lips curved up slightly as she recalled their chatter on their way to Sector 5. She remembered asking a lot of questions about Cloud that time around. _What was he like? Was Tifa his girlfriend? How long had he been staying in Sector 7?_

Her smile quickly faded as she reached the end of her short recollection, leaving the rest of the group to realize the truth.

“Wait…that’s it?” Barret could not believe it. Surely there had to have been more survivors than just the four of them. “That can’t be right! There must have been others!”

Tifa regarded Aerith, who did not have the courage to reciprocate her gaze. She cursed through gritted teeth.

“We could have prevented it this time…if only”—

Cloud took a step towards the conflicted woman and tried to pacify her.

“You saw what happened with those things back in Shinra HQ. There was nothing any of us could have done to prevent that.”

Tifa glared back at Cloud with pain in her eyes. She had seen those things, as he put it, in action first hand, saving Barret’s life after he had been stabbed, a wound that should have been fatal for all she knew.

“...Is that really so?”

Aerith knew Tifa probably did not mean it in that way, but she could not help taking her words personally. The same doubts had been haunting her ever since she first started seeing those dreaded memories in her dreams.

“If only…”

Her voice trailed off as she thought back on the instances she could have done differently to try and change the outcome. Maybe if she had taken a chance and confided in her companions on their way to Sector 7 through the train graveyard or if she had—

“ _Aerith._ ”

What if she had told Zack about her dreams? He would probably still be alive right now. Maybe he could have even prevented the whole Nibelheim incident from ever occurring.

“Maybe I could have...”

The Cetra’s words were barely audible, making it clear she had been caught in a trance of negative emotions. Maybe if she had studied magic harder instead of wasting time drawing and crying for her mom, she would have been able to develop more potent spells than the ones she had acquired up to now.

Perhaps, she could have even saved her from her tragic fate. 

Aerith gasped as two strong hands grabbed her shoulders, shaking her out of her dark thoughts. She stared down at the gloved hands and followed them back to their owner.

“Back with us?”

Aerith could only nod.

“Sorry, Aerith…” sighed Tifa, her head hung low. “I was just… surprised...”

After composing herself, Aerith gave Tifa a small smile. Then, she gasped when a large hand rested on her head. 

“I guess we’re doing a fair deal better this time around then.” 

She looked up at Barret, who flashed her a tired but genuine smile of his own.

"Gotta make sure to keep riding this trend to the end.”

Cloud pushed away Barret’s hand from Aerith before crossing his arms.

“There’s no stopping this train we’re on, right?” 

Cloud smirked at Barret’s confused face. “Not a bad saying, wherever that came from.”

Barret’s spirit flared when he realized what the blond was spouting.

“First you scam me with your false advertising, now you steal my lines? That shit’s gotta stop Spikes!”

The whole group glanced at one another before sharing a hearty laugh at his outburst.

Once everyone had calmed down, Cloud walked towards the corner of the room to retrieve the Buster sword. He lifted it from the floor effortlessly and gave it a few spins over his head. The lump of metal felt much lighter now for some reason. 

After adjusting the weapon on his back, he spun back to his group, eyes scanning each of their faces, exchanging knowing looks with all of them. His eyes paused longer on the Cetra’s affectionate smile, his lips mimicking hers. 

“So...to the Temple of the Ancients then?”

Aerith tapped a finger to her chin.

“First we should go to Junon to hitch a boat ride to the eastern continent.”

Junon, Shinra’s naval base and gateway to the rest of the world.

Barret was already psyching himself up.

“Fine by me. Let’s get some payback while we’re at it!”

Tifa sighed before shaking her head at the Avalanche leader’s enthusiasm.

“Some things never change, whispers or not.”

They all shared one last chuckle at Barret’s expense before moving out of the room, ready to tackle the next part of their journey. Aerith was about to exit herself when she was stopped by their de facto leader.

“Hey…”

She tilted her head and eyed him questioningly.

Cloud scratched the back of his neck, clearly fumbling for his next words. He sighed when he could not seem to find an eloquent way of saying it. 

“No more... sacrifices…okay?”

Aerith only blinked at him.

“What do you mean?”

Cloud narrowed his eyes, praying she was not trying to avoid the conversation again.

“You know perfectly well.”

Aerith lips settled into a hard line, her usual beaming smile replaced by one of seriousness she seldom showed. There was no use beating around the bush anymore, not after what had transpired between them.

“Everyone dies eventually, Cloud. That’s also what it means to live.”

Cloud scoffed at hearing the same tired line.

“You told me that already.”

Aerith continued to hold his gaze.

“Yes, and you already agreed with that premise. Why the change of heart?”

Cloud struggled to understand her side of the argument. But no matter how hard he tried, he failed to see it.

“This is different.”

“How so? Making the most of the time you have, connecting with others, making precious memories…”

His forehead creased beneath the hair that fell over his face. _Did he have to really spell it out for her?_

“Think about the people you leave behind. Your mom, the kids back in the orphanage…and us...”

His eyes broke away from her face, finding it difficult to look into her bright eyes without feeling a simmer of anger. 

“Cloud”—

“Sacrificing yourself isn’t the same as dying naturally.”

Cloud spat the words out with more venom than he had intended. He could not help it though, as he loathed that very notion with every fiber of his being.

Aerith chuckled.

“...Maybe it is natural for us Cet”—

“ _Aerith! ”_

The Cetra reached out for his face, turning it back towards hers.

“Again, we can’t live forever.”

Cloud hated her patronizing tone. Trying to goad him into accepting her flawed argument.

“That’s not what I’m asking for.”

Obviously, he was not that stupid enough to think they could escape the clutches of death forever.

“What are you asking for then?”

His eyes fell back into the green of her eyes, as he cursed her stubbornness in trying to convince him he was being unreasonable for wanting the obvious.

A normal life, with her by his side.

Their eyes stayed locked for a moment before Cloud mustered the strength to tear his gaze away. He stuck his right hand inside his pocket, and fished out a pair of familiar-looking bracelets.

Aerith’s eyes widened, realizing what he was holding.

Wordlessly, she received it while replaying the events of the day in her head. Particularly, the sudden errand he had gone to before meeting up with the group.

“Why...?”

Cloud raised an eyebrow at her.

“They seemed valuable to you.”

“But, the money”—

Cloud pinched her cheek in mild annoyance.

“Next time, just ask me. I can always take an odd job or we can just pawn one of these.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the chest containing their unused materia.

She followed his gesture before staring at him incredulously. Cloud...of all people! Suggesting to pawn off the precious orbs of magic they might need on their journey.

Cloud lowered his head as he scratched his cheek.

“I couldn’t track down your necklace though. It seemed like something important too… Sorry…”

He risked a glance at the flower girl, dreading to find disappointment but was only met with the same stunned expression.

“It’s fine...”

“That flower…it was a forget-me-not, right?”

The mention of the flower snapped Aerith out of her surprise. That flower had indeed been a forget-me-not. A symbol of precious memories she did not want to forget, no matter what the Planet intended for her. 

“Yes.” She said. “I bought it myself.”

Cloud’s eyebrows shot up.

“Really? I thought it was a gift”— He stopped mid sentence, chastising himself for ironically feeling relieved.

Aerith could not help but grin, noticing the blond’s nervous twitch.

“Hmm? Are you relieved it wasn’t a precious gift from a former lover?”

Cloud cleared his throat in a poor attempt to hide the obvious.

“That has nothing to do with it.”

Aerith giggled, greatly enjoying her bodyguard’s embarrassment, a sight she knew would never get old. 

But then she yelped when a paper bag smacked her right in the face.

“Enough already.” ordered Cloud, holding the offensive weapon. 

Aerith glared at Cloud as she rubbed at the bridge of her nose.

“You jerk.”

She stuck her tongue out, a gesture met with rolling eyes. She muttered an inaudible curse under her breath before focusing on the bag still held out to her.

She tilted her head to the side, wordlessly seeking an answer through her face. Cloud, however, only motioned her to take it before dropping his gaze to his feet. There was a slight redness to his ears. 

Aerith lips parted as she pulled out a simple gold chain from the bag. A small flower pendant dangling from it, one she did not recognize. She unconsciously clutched a hand over her beating heart, while studying the delicate sculpting of the unknown flower.

“It’s so pretty…”

She looked back to Cloud, who was silently observing her despite his downcast eyes.

“What flower is this?”

Cloud stepped closer to get a better look.

“A hibiscus or so I was told.”

The name sounded familiar. Aerith's eyes lit up as she remembered the name from the drink she had the day before.

“What does it mean?”

Cloud ran a hand through his hair as he recalled the conversation he had with the clerk. It had mostly been her gushing about how handsome he was, and that his girlfriend was incredibly lucky. He remembered being slightly disappointed at first for not finding a pendant shaped like one of the lilies she grew in her church.

The disappointment rapidly subsided when the clerk showed him the hibiscus pendant he ended up buying. The price was a little steep but to his defense, the saleswoman had made a great argument about the flower representing delicate beauty itself. An aptly suited analogy for the woman he had in mind.

As for the meaning of the exotic flower itself... 

A perfect wife.

“No clue.”

“What? Awww…”

Aerith pouted before shaking her head. It did not matter though, she would just look it up in her free time. She turned the pendant in her fingers before slipping an arm behind her neck to hold her braid up.

She handed the necklace to Cloud with her other hand as she presented her neck to him.

Cloud swallowed hard as he tried his best to steady his trembling fingers.

Aerith stifled a laugh, listening to him curse with the tiny lock. 

The mercenary sighed in relief when he finally managed to fasten the gold chain around the flower girl’s skin.

Aerith took a step forward and did a quick spin as she proudly showed off the result of his endeavors. Cloud nodded approvingly at the sight. Better than what he had ever imagined. Now he only needed one last thing from her. 

“Promise me.”

Aerith stared fondly at her new pendant.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Aerith”—

“The planet will always be my priority.”

Cloud lowered his head, the joy he had felt scarcely a few moments ago was now cold and forgotten.

“... Even before us?”

“I can’t let everyone down, no matter what. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” She raised her eyes. “And you wouldn’t either.” 

Again, with the know it all attitude.

“Stop acting like you know me.” snapped Cloud. 

Aerith kept smiling as she leaned over to rest her head on his solid chest, listening closely to the heart she knew so well.

“But I do. You’re too kind, Cloud. That’s who you are.”

She shivered with delight when she felt his arms encircle her. His hand sought her silky auburn hair, stroking it. 

“Let’s just make sure it never comes down to that choice.”

Aerith sighed before reluctantly pushing herself off of him. They had to leave now unless they wanted to stir more gossip of what was keeping them long. 

“I’m sorry for putting you through all this, Cloud. I really am.” She smiled at him. “I just wanted you to know that I really meant it when I said I would return.”

While she could remember leaving his side at the worst time possible, the excruciating pain she had inflicted upon him against her will by returning to the Planet…

She knew for sure her naive future self had meant it when she had told him she would return to him.

Cloud looked at her with confusion.

“You never said that.”

“In another life I did.”

Cloud pondered her words. Even though it was not exactly what he had wanted to hear, it would have to do. 

“...Fine. I’ll give you the benefit of doubt.”

For now.


	9. Chapter 9

Cloud sighed as he applied the finishing touches to the now fully patched-up pink dress. He held the clothing at arm's length and inspected his handiwork.

He groaned as he turned the dress inside out, revealing a blood stain he had missed. His gaze lingered on the dark red spot, a nauseous sensation crept into him.

Had he been more careful…

Barret’s whistling interrupted his thoughts.

“Not half bad for a dumbass.”

Cloud elected to ignore the obvious provocation. He had earned it.

Barret returned his attention to the sketch he had been working on, groaning in annoyance as he closed his notebook. There was no way he could continue working on his sketch of the surrounding swamp stretched out in front of them when he was still worked up from the whole debacle that had taken place earlier.

The large man tossed the notebook in his backpack before joining their four-legged companion next to the crackling campfire.

“Maybe you should stick with that from now on instead of trying to get us all killed.”

He let himself fall down near the stack of dead branches they had gathered for the night and fed the fire.

Meanwhile, Red XIII craned his neck to check on Cloud who had not spoken since the incident.

“As much as it pains me to agree with this lump of meat…”

“Hey!” 

“... He’s right.”

“Thank you!”

Red XIII rolled his eyes at Barret before focusing back on their silent leader.

“You could have led us to our doom.”

Cloud gritted his teeth. The last thing he needed was for Red XIII to chime in. But he had earned this reprimand as well. All of them really.

* * *

_ “I can outrun the Midgardsormr. But I doubt you four could keep up.” _

_ Red XIII’s ears twitched as he strained to listen closely to the invisible threat lurking beneath the swamp surface. _

_ “We should turn back and go to the ranch to get yourselves some chocobos.” _

_ Tifa knelt down next to the edge of the marsh, dipping her arm in it to get an idea of how deep it ran. She removed her hand after confirming the water to be at least knee deep, shaking off the murky liquid as she stood back up. _

_ “If we do, the villagers in Kalm won't be able to resume their work in the mine though…” _

_ Cloud threw a furtive glance at the last Cetra before making his decision. _

_ “Tifa has a point. Let’s just walk through the marsh right now. We should just get rid of that monster.” _

_ He laced his hand with the flower’s girl before turning to her. _

_ “We can do this… Right ?” _

_ Aerith smiled at her bodyguard. _

_ “We are stronger this time around. It will be okay.” _

_ She gave her bodyguard a reassuring squeeze meant for both of them before letting him lead their party into the foggy swamp. _

* * *

“You could have gotten Aerith killed.”

Despite feeling guilty about using such an argument against him, Red XIII knew this was the surefire way to get through the stubborn blond.

* * *

_ “Well, wasn’t that bad in the end.” _

_ Cloud inhaled sharply before brushing aside the bangs coated in a mixture of swamp water and sweat. _

_ He threw a glance towards his companions to make sure everyone was safe and sound before turning his attention back to the lifeless body of the gigantic snake they had just slain.  _

_ Just as he removed the Buster sword from the monster’s neck, he suddenly heard the alarmed cries of his friends. _

_ Despite his Mako enhancements, Cloud was caught completely off guard by the giant tail that swung at him from his blind spot. Both him and his sword were sent flying in a distance before crashing back into the dank water. _

_ Cloud stumbled as he tried to get up, dizzy from the impact. He shook his head, trying to understand what had just happened. According to Aerith, there should have only been one giant snake lurking in the swamp. _

_ The blond whipped around as he heard Tifa yell out his name, just in time to see an enormous pair of eyes staring down at him menacingly. _

_ He shielded his eyes as two fireballs hit the snake towering above him right in the face. Despite the monster recoiling from the impact, its focus was still intent on the prey in front of him. _

_ Cloud shielded himself once more as another set of fireballs hit its aggressor, finally getting the attention of the giant snake off of him. _

_ His eyes narrowed as he tried to locate the source of the firaga spells that had just saved him. _

_ His relief was short-lived, however, when he finally saw the familiar pink dress in the distance, still unloading the full extent of her magical arsenal to keep the attention away from her bodyguard. Cloud’s mind raced when he realized his other companions were nowhere near Aerith. _

_ The mercenary fumbled through the murky water in search of his sword, panic setting in as he saw the second Midgardsormr lunge towards the Cetra, crashing its head repeatedly on the flowery shield she had conjured up preemptively. _

_ A loud explosion in the distance alarmed him. _

_ His eyes widened in horror upon seeing the giant snake he previously thought dead slithering at a high speed behind Aerith, who was still trying to fend off her first attacker. _

_ Cloud cried out her name as he sprung to his feet, immediately breaking into a run, only to trip a few feet away on the sword he had been searching for. _

_ He wasted no time in grabbing his weapon before running towards the flower girl, just in time to catch her surprised face as the second snake grabbed hold of her from behind.  _

_ His mind grew blank as the monster’s razor sharp teeth sank into her flesh. _

_ His sword fell back in the water, now forgotten by its owner, who stood frozen in place as he watched his precious ward getting tossed aside like a ragdoll. _

_ He tried to call out her name once more, but the sound never left his throat. _

_ Flashes of the Masamune plunging into her soft body conjured in his mind, interspersed with new flashes of a giant set of teeth clamping down on her. _

_ His brain did not register the calls of his friend as his mind kept replaying the same visions in slow motion while his lifeless eyes stared blankly at the motionless body lying face down in the rapidly reddening water. _

_ Her name finally left his lips as a hushed whisper as a battered down Tifa did her best to drag Aerith away from the two snakes while they were being distracted by Red XIII bouncing back and forth from one to the other. Barret added his support by unleashing an onslaught of bullets at the same time. _

_ Cloud’s gaze stayed on the two women for a long time until he finally got swung over Barret’s shoulder as Red XIII continued to stall their enemies.  _

_ When he was sure his human companions had retreated, Red XIII grabbed the hilt of the Buster sword in his mouth and made haste with his own escape.  _

* * *

“Who could have gotten who killed?”

The singsong voice brought Cloud back to the present.

He looked up to find the two women in their group wearing their hoodies and matching pair of shorts. He quickly averted his gaze as soon as his eyes met Aerith’s, who frowned in return.

Barret walked up to the approaching pair.

“You feelin’ better?”

Aerith twirled around while humming happily.

“Yeah, now that I’m all clean!”

She made her merry way towards her bodyguard, but not before crouching by their canine companion to give him a pat on the head.

Aerith plopped down next to the sullen man, scooting closer to him as he tried to shift away from her. She egged him with a grin before gasping in surprise at her patched-up pink dress.

“Sewing on top of dancing? What other talents are you hiding from us, Mr. Strife?”

Aerith winked at her bodyguard suggestively, a tinge of mischief glinting in her eyes.

“Aerith, I”— 

Aerith put herself in her bodyguard’s embrace, nuzzling against his neck, and effectively stopping the apology he was undoubtedly ready to give her.

One that was unneeded and unwanted.

She sniffed against his neck audibly, before scowling in mock disgust.

“No offense, Cloud…but you could really use a bath yourself.”

She stuck her tongue at him before breaking into a giggling fit at Cloud’s dumbfounded expression on his boyish features.

The Cetra turned to the two other males in their group.

“It’s okay with you if Cloud goes first, right?”

Red XIII nodded while Barret grunted in reply.

“Fine, Spikes can go first. Just make sure he doesn’t take too long this time.”

Aerith thanked the two before leading her silent bodyguard to the body of water Tifa and her had just used to clean themselves up after their taxing battle.

* * *

Aerith watched her bodyguard absentmindedly scrub his bare chest with the bar of soap she had handed to him, wrapped in a scrubbing sponge. After which, she backed away to give him more space. 

She would have gladly taken advantage of the free show he was giving her, squealing in delight as his hand moved to unbuckle his belts. It would have taken all her willpower to hide her blushing face behind her hands and tear her eyes away from the sight of his chiseled body bathed in glorious moonlight for her viewing pleasure only.

Instead, she studied the hunched over man with increasing worry.

* * *

_ “How are you feeling?” _

_ The Cetra opened her eyes to find three other pairs looking at her in relief. _

_ “I’m fine…” Aerith replied as she groggily sat up, her eyes suddenly widening in alarm as she remembered what had just happened. _

_ She latched onto Tifa’s arms before asking a question she dreaded. _

_ “Where’s Cloud?” _

_ Tifa smiled reassuringly as she jerked a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the blond who was busy lighting up the campfire for the night. _

_ Aerith sighed, relief washing over her as soon as she saw that Cloud was all right. _

_ She looked down at herself, finally noticing someone had changed her out of her previous outfit.  _

_ Aerith first ran a hand around her neck to confirm her necklace was still securely fastened. Her eyes then darted around to study her surroundings. She finally spotted her pink dress which had been neatly folded and placed next to her head. Aerith snatched it and soon let out a groan at her discovery. Two holes that had been left on the side of the bodice, marked from the monster that had attacked her.  _

_ “Well, so much for my favorite dress…” _

_ “I’d say it’s a good thing, now you’ll have to buy some real clothes.” _

_ Aerith lightly smacked Tifa’s shoulder. _

_ “Look who’s talking!” _

_ The pair laughed, soon joined in by Barret and Red XIII. Their laughter died down when they heard the clicking sound of combat boots making their way towards them. _

_ They watched as Cloud stopped a few feet away from them. _

_ “...I’ll patch up your dress.” He said. “While you go… clean up…” _

_ Aerith frowned when Cloud did not raise his eyes to meet hers. _

_ She grunted as she struggled to get up. She thanked Barret when he helped her on her feet. _

_ She walked over to Cloud, and pushed her torn dress into his hands. _

_ “I’ll be in your care then.” _

_ Aerith’s heart still sank when he wordlessly folded the article of clothing and retreated to his isolated corner without sparing her a look. _

* * *

Aerith got up from her spot and made her way towards the man she loved. She hastened her step when she noticed, for the first time, the redness on his skin.

Oblivious to her, Cloud continued to scrub hard, gritting his teeth through the burning sensation. No matter how much he kept at it though, he could not seem to get rid of the stench of the swamp. The horrible stench of death.

He was cursing under his breath when a soft hand encircled his wrist, making him stop.

He did not have to turn around to identify the owner.

“That’s enough, Cloud.”

He tried to shrug her away.

“It still reeks.”

To no avail.

“No, it doesn’t.”

Cloud lowered his arms to his side, shoulders slumped in defeat.

“You should stay away from me...for your own good.”

Aerith tightened her grip around his wrist in defiance.

“And I think the exact opposite.”

Cloud finally looked at her. 

“One day. That’s how long it took me to fail you...”

Again.

His voice cracked under the pressure of his own guilt.

He had already failed her in a previous life. And he had almost managed to blow his second chance even more rapidly.

Aerith smiled softly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she tied a bath towel around Cloud’s waist.

“You didn’t fail me.”

She raised her head to meet his gaze.

“If anything, I’m the one who failed you.”

Cloud scoffed as he broke eye contact. He was the bodyguard, the one person who was supposed to protect her against harm, disregarding his own well-being. And yet, he ended up being the one protected by her in the face of danger.

“It’s the truth.” The flower girl continued. “I really thought we could do it. I just never expected there would be a second one…”

Indeed, she remembered how they had tried to fight the giant snake in their previous lifetime and how they had failed, despite it being a close fight. 

But they were stronger this time around.

In fact, they were so much stronger they had already defeated one of Sephiroth’s clones.

Not once did she ever think that this clone could possibly be the one who would end up killing the other giant snake they would later discover impaled on a tree trunk right outside the mythril cave.

“I’m fine, Cloud.”

Aerith guided his hand under her shirt, leading it across her stomach, her skin tingling under his electrifying touch.

“See? Not even the tiniest scar.”

Cloud reluctantly nodded. She was right, her skin was perfect. Smooth and silky. Warm to the touch.

Aerith gasped as she felt something press against her abdomen.

She turned a bright shade of red when she realized what it was. She chewed on her lower lip as she observed the traces of desire swirling in the otherwise stoic blue eyes she never tired of.

For a split moment, the pair stood frozen against each other, both considering giving in to the palpable temptation that hummed in the air.

The sound of a branch snapping startled them both, with Cloud taking a step forward to position himself between Aerith and the potential threat.

Both released the breath they were holding when two deer emerged from the bushes, moving to the water to quench their thirst.

Cloud turned back towards his companion, a snort escaping his pursed lips as he witnessed her failing to stifle a laugh.

“You should have seen your face!”

Cloud moved in to flick the teasing girl’s forehead.

“Talk about yourself.”

He then took a step back, suddenly conscious about his state of undress and…arousal.

Aerith caught on, the blush returning to her face to match his.

“You perv!” She squealed as she playfully pushed him down, making him lose his balance and trip over backwards.

Aerith continued to laugh as she made a quick escape to avoid any retaliation from the mercenary who sat in the water in shock before gathering himself up to launch his pursuit. 

The couple chased each other until they reached the top of a hill overlooking the grassy plains of Gaia and the chocobo ranch in the distance. The stop they should have made in the first place. But Aerith was glad they ended up ignoring it.

She cooed happily when two strong arms encircled her waist from behind as Cloud buried his face against her cheek, his hot breath tingling her ear.

As he hummed triumphantly in her ear, she eyed a patch of wildflowers.  Aerith excitedly pointed out her discovery and wasted no time in dragging him there, making sure they avoided stepping on any of them.

“You know, Tifa told me you took her on a waltz.” She said, and was answered by one raised blond eyebrow. 

“...So ?”

The Cetra huffed in exasperation.

“So you took her out for a spin and yet you’ve never treated your girlfriend to a dance.”

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck. 

“...Sorry.”

Still,  _ girlfriend _ . That was the first time she had said it, an official confirmation of what was going on between them. And he liked the sound of it.

Aerith smirked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She inched closer to his ear, heating it with her breath.

“I’m not interested in your apologies.” She nibbled on his earlobe. “I want you to show me your moves, sir.”

Cloud steeled himself, trying his best not to squirm under her spell.

“Are you sure?”

Aerith slurred her affirmation, continuing to toy with her man’s ear.

She yelped as he yanked her with him towards the center of the flower patch. His face was barely an inch away from hers, and it looked more handsome than it ever did.

“Are you sure?”

She flashed him a coy smile.

“Try me.”

Cloud did not need more encouragement as he led his lover in a series of dizzying spins and swings. He also made sure to quicken his step every time she made a cute sound.

“How are you holding up?”

“I-I’m good”—

Aerith let out a high-pitched noise as he spun her once more without warning.

She braced herself for the impact when she lost her footing. It never came as she found herself staring into Cloud’s eyes instead, a strong arm supporting her waist. Or so was the plan, before she slipped from his arm anyway and brought him down with her.

“Aerith, you okay?”

Aerith slowly opened her eyes and found herself back to her starting point, staring deeply into his face. She tried to come up with a witty reply but found herself too enthralled to think of anything else in the flurry of petals dancing around them.

Finally, she wrapped her arms around her bodyguard’s neck, raising her head to claim his lips.

She moaned in protest when Cloud pulled away, shushing her with a finger to her lips. 

“So…what did they say?

Her eyes stayed on his lips, the longing too much to bear for her brain to register anything else.

“Who?”

Cloud lowered himself to whisper in her ear.

“The flowers…”

She pleaded her heart to stop thundering inside her ribs.

“They said…” Aerith shivered as he traced the line of her jaw with his lips as burying his hand in her hair. “That a gentleman should know…” She bit her lower lip as she felt his fingers run down the curve of her waist. And another moan escaped her when they trailed lower to her hips.

“When to keep it in his pants!” She finally finished in exasperation. “Oh. We are so going to hell for trampling all over them.”

Cloud smirked against her cheek.

“Dunno about you... But it’s well worth it to me.”

Her heart skipped a bit as he lowered his mouth to hers.Then, he paused, taking a moment to whisper something he knew, deep down, was always meant to be spoken in his previous life.

“I love you, Aerith Gainsbourough.”

All her life, she had been scared of setting off into the world, fearing the outside was bursting with too much life that was overwhelming.

What she found had been the opposite thus far, a world marred with an unbearable, at times, deafening silence.

And yet, the truth was that she could not care less at the moment.

She smiled against his lips.

“I love you, Cloud Strife.”

Both soon surrendered themselves completely to each other, their heartbeats keeping time together. The grass rustled beneath them as the night cloaked them with stars.


	10. Chapter 10

The day was still young when Tifa finally came out of her tent, feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. The sleeping bag was nothing at all like the soft mattress back in Kalm, a distinction her sore body made known, but it was a far better alternative than sleeping on the dirt. A breeze blew past her with a cold sting, spreading chills all over her face and exposed arms and legs. She made a mental note to buy thicker clothing in the next town they hit. 

But despite the cold air and the night spent in the wilderness with makeshift accommodations, Tifa enjoyed herself and felt a sense of peace. A peculiar thought given how they had barely escaped from another brush with death in the marshlands sprawling in the distance behind her. But it was nothing a nice bath had not fixed. That and, perhaps more importantly, the sight of her two friends returning to camp hand in hand with a guilty expression on both their faces. 

Tifa tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, doing her best to keep it in check as the breeze continued to toy with her long raven tresses. She scanned the colorful expanse before her under the morning sun, admiring the sway of the tall blades of grass and wildflowers still glistening with morning dew. Contrasting the unending valley of green was the borderless canvas of blue above, punctuated by sparse clumps of white clouds drifting by.

The wondrous beauty made Tifa feel closer to her Cetra friend, feeling a new appreciation towards nature. 

She sighed in delight when the faint aroma of coffee reached her nostrils, her eyes closing as she inhaled the pleasant scent. 

It was not a fresh brew of beans, but considering where they were, instant coffee was still just as good as gold.

The young woman followed the enticing smell back to the center of their camp to find Barret sitting on the grass, his back turned against her and a small metal cup by his side. She grabbed a mug for herself and poured some hot water from the kettle sitting on top of the leftover stack of embers before adding a couple spoonfuls of coffee.

The hot beverage warmed the palms of her hands as she held the mug. Smacking her lips, she took a sip and made a contented sound. After another slither down her throat, she settled next to Barret and found he was intensely focused on a drawing. 

Tifa peered over his arm, gasping in shock when she glimpsed his sketch.

“Aerith was right, you’re surprisingly talented.”

“Surprisingly?” Barret scoffed at her with indignation. “You get a gun for an arm, and suddenly, all you’re good for is busting people’s asses.”

“Sorry, I was just surprised. I’m used to Barret Wallace, leader of Avalanche. Not Barret the wandering artist.” She took another blissful sip with a sigh.

Barret side-eyed the young woman before returning his gaze to the grassy hills overlooking the chocobo ranch he had been sketching.

“You seem awfully happy today. Somethin’ good happened?”

His question was met by a cheerful hum, followed by a tap on the shoulder. Barret looked in the direction his friend was pointing to, finally spotting a pack of wild chocobos in the distance. The doting father smiled to himself as he began adding the bipedal birds onto the paper.

Marlene would love this.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice yesterday?” Tifa asked in between sips.

“That shitshow with those goddamn snakes? That’s what got you all chirpy?”

She lightly punched his arm.

“After that, you idiot.”

“Oh. You mean after they left me hanging in my dirty clothes for two hours before finally getting my turn to wash?” Barret scrunched up his nose in disgust, remembering the foul stench he had been forced to stew in. 

“Precisely.” said Tifa, hiding a smirk behind her mug.

Barret put his notebook back on his lap before slurping a gulp of his now lukewarm coffee. 

He pondered Aerith and her warm, bubbly persona that made it possible for anyone to be attracted to her, even someone as dumb as a fake Soldier. However, he could not apply it the other way around. Finding it unfathomable for any woman to waste her affections on someone like Spikes. 

There was also something about the way Aerith acted around Cloud...as though she had known him for a far longer time than the short amount since they met. 

Despite not being one to engage in gossip, Barret decided to indulge Tifa.

“Did Aerith say anything about last night?”

“How could she?” Tifa’s smirk widened. “She wasn’t even in the tent when I woke up.” 

She cut a quick glance to Cloud’s tent, her eyebrows rising suggestively. “Although I might have an idea where she could be.”

Barret scoffed at the revelation.

“No wonder Spikes insisted on getting his own tent instead of bunking with me.”

Tifa let out a soft giggle that transformed into a relaxed smile, her eyes glazed with fondness.

“Isn’t it nice though? Seeing both of them like that. It’s a nice change.”

“I still have a hard time making heads out of that whole memory from the future stored in the lifestream shenanigan thing.” said Barret, massaging his temple as his mind ran back to the confusing explanation they had been given.

“Me too. All I know is, it must feel great to finally be able to find each other again in another life.” Tifa said, sighing happily at the thought. A second chance to reunite with the love of your life. Who wouldn’t wish for that? Tifa’s head lifted with a startle from the rasping sound of a zipper.

Aerith emerged from the tent, her chestnut hair tousled and falling freely without a notable ribbon. 

Tifa waved the flower girl over, who returned the greeting with a nervous fidget. Tifa raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the approaching figure who averted her eyes from them. She nudged Barret with her elbow.

“Good morning, guys...” Aerith greeted softly. Barret and Tifa exchanged amused glances at the demure demeanor that was uncharacteristic of the flower girl, who seemed to have also developed a profound interest with her own toes. 

“Nice of you to finally join the rest of us.” Tifa teased, fighting hard to prevent herself from grinning. 

Aerith let out an awkward laugh before trying to change the subject. “Where’s Red?”

“Out hunting while we’re waiting for some sleepyheads to wake up.” Barret chimed in, not allowing the Cetra her wishful escape. 

“Sorry, I didn’t notice the time.”

Tifa got up and slipped behind Aerith, placing her hands on her slumped shoulders.

“Now, now, cut the girl some slack. Here, have a drink.”

Aerith accepted an offered mug with a murmur of thanks, and took a long distracting sip to compose herself.

“I mean what did you expect after last night?”

Aerith choked on her drink. As she coughed, she cursed herself for having been so naively lulled into a false sense of security. 

“I guess you’re right. Sounded tiresome indeed.” Barret chimed in.

Aerith wiped the back of her hand against her mouth. “W-what do you mean ‘sounded’?”

“Well, you haven’t exactly been discreet…” Tifa admitted, scratching her neck, her nonchalant statement effectively draining all the color from Aerith. The flower girl turned towards Barret, and was aghast to see his chagrined expression.

Her lips parted wordlessly, eyes darting back and forth between her two friends. Her dismay only lightened when they broke into laughter. 

“You’re both awful, you know that?” Aerith muttered, cheeks flushed crimson.

Tifa wiped a tear from her eye.

“Relax! We were only joking.” 

She turned to look at Barret, now rubbing his chin pensively.

“Although. Judging by your reaction...” A smirk tugged at his lips.

Tifa tapped her right fist into her left palm as she joined in on the teasing.

“Grow up already!” scolded Aerith, angrily grabbing the kettle to fill two mugs with hot water.

Still chuckling in amusement, Barret offered the flustered woman the tin of instant coffee which she begrudgingly accepted. Aerith rummaged through the bag containing their supplies before pulling out an unopened bag of powdered sugar.

Barret and Tifa were left stunned as they witnessed the flower girl sweetening her drink with not one but three spoonfuls. Before she could sweeten the other one, Tifa felt she had to intervene. 

“I don’t think you should.”

“Why not?” Aerith asked, her spoon already hovering above the second cup.

“He prefers it black.” Tifa said, recalling how he would always ask for it at the bar when it was not the occasional glass of hard-hitting liquor she would test on him. 

“He said that?” Aerith hummed as she dropped the entire spoonful of sugar anyway. After mixing it, she placed her lips on the rim, taking a satisfied sip as she watched the surprise widening in Tifa’s eyes. 

A sigh escaped Tifa’s lips as she eyed the sugary mug actually meant for Cloud. 

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Aerith only giggled while retreating back to her boyfriend’s tent, two mugs of coffee in hand. 

Once back inside, she sat down next to Cloud, setting down the extra sweet cup of coffee next to his sleeping bag.They might have been on a schedule to save the world, but she couldn’t bring herself to rouse him from his deep sleep.

Her eyes softened as she observed his peaceful face, one she had no recollection of ever having the chance to admire, not even in her past life.

Aerith brushed back a lengthy spike of blond hair from his face that obscured the long lashes fringing his closed eyes. She traced the well-defined features of his handsome face with a slender finger before bending to brush her lips against his temple.

* * *

_Cloud stared into the distance, turning off the engine of his motorcycle. His eyes slowly swept through the patch of overgrown wildflowers stretching out on the side of the road. It was a small service road he liked to take when he felt pensive. He knew he would scarcely encounter another soul, allowing him to slow down and soak in the rustic beauty of the bucolic landscapes scrolling past him as he drove._

_Cloud swung off his bike, gliding a gloved hand on its once well polished pitch black body. A disapproving frown formed as he tried to rub off several patches of what he assumed to be dirt but turned out to be scratches._

_Fenrir had definitely seen better days, no thanks to his lacking upkeep as of late. Not that it would matter in the long run._

_Cloud smiled to himself as he headed towards the wildflowers that had previously caught his attention. He couldn’t wait to see Denzel’s reaction when he would finally get the motorcycle he always dreamed of having, although he would have to give it a thorough cleaning first._

_He chuckled heartily as he recalled the one time the begging had become so unbearable that he ended up bringing the young man to a dealership with the firm intent of buying him his first motorcycle right then and there. They instead left with a small truck, as the young man adamantly refused to get on any other bike besides his coveted one and only._

_Cloud stopped upon reaching the center of the flowerbed and crouched down. He gently stroked the petals of one of the many yellow lilies surrounding him. The flowers were still a rarity in this portion of land between Edge and Kalm despite more than two decades since the dismantling of the last Mako reactor of the region. Basking in their presence was one of the pleasures he had in life, the mere sight of them having a soothing effect on his weary heart. The message was clear. The Planet was well on its way to recovery, even if the process was a slow one._

_They all had gone to great lengths to protect it over the past twenty-three years, ever since that fateful day he had been hired to be a part-time eco-terrorist._ **_Her_ ** _Planet, which she had given up so much for._

_Cloud tossed his gloves aside before letting himself fall backwards. His eyelids fluttered to a close as he gently caressed the silky petals that reminded him of her. Her auburn tresses cascading around her alluring face. Silky hair he wished he had been brave enough to run through his fingers. The gentle sheen from her emerald-like eyes that could make a jeweller sigh with envy._

_He could almost hear her playful laugh as she would playfully scold him for acting all carefree, espeicially after receiving the news disclosed in the diagnosis letter. He had come to accept it with a sense of calm, relief even, as it meant an end to his lifelong quest journey._

_It was funny in a way, considering all the conflicts he had been roped into and coming out unscathed. He had even overcome geostigma, albeit with some otherworldly help, only to find himself ultimately bested by a generic brain cancer. Not that he had a death wish, she had already made a point to reach out from beyond the lifestream to ease the debilitating guilt that had haunted him._

_She had taught him the true meaning of life, giving him a newfound appreciation for what he still had and the people who remained by his side. He had lived a fulfilling life despite the problems he had faced and had genuinely started looking towards the future with hope. He had bore witness to many milestones. One of which was the wedding of Marlene, which occurred quite recently. And before that, he helped welcome Cid and Shera’s offsprings into the 7th Heaven fold._

_And now after twenty-three years. Twenty-three excruciatingly long years spent chasing after every lead about the Promise Land and reaching nothing but dead ends, he would finally be able to see her again._

_Footsteps alerted him to another presence behind him. How eager to finally meet him again must she have been to pick him up so quickly? Cloud chuckled inwardly at the thought but his smile instantly faded the moment he caught a glimpse of silver from the corner of his eye._

_“It pains me greatly to see you in such a pitiful state.”_

_Cloud looked up to meet the intruder’s cold stare, his eyes bearing the sickening mako green he had come to hate._

_“It’s been a long time, Cloud.”_

* * *

“Cloud?”

Cloud’s eyes shot wide open to find a gaze with the warmest shade of green flashing concern for him. 

How could the same color be completely different?

“Sorry. You seemed to be having a nightmare, so...” Aerith murmured, feeling bad for having disturbed him.

Cloud stared at the young Cetra, who was also somehow his girlfriend. He was still unsure of what he had done to deserve the privilege of waking up to her radiant face in the morning. His eyes traced her features, committing the tiniest detail to memory.

Aerith tilted her head inquisitively.

“Something wrong with my face?” She asked, her lips jutted for added effect.

Cloud tentatively raised a hand, inescapably drawn to her like a moth to a flame. However he stopped himself, his strong desire to let her silky strands flow through his fingers suddenly quelled by an irrational fear.

The blissful intimacy they shared, what if it was just a figment of his imagination? A hallucination that would end the moment he would touch her? The dream he had just woken up from felt oddly familiar, with names he had never heard of before somehow rolling in his mind naturally.

And for the first time since meeting her, he was finally able to put a number to the longing that seeped from his dream to reality.

_Twenty-three years._

She would have been in her mid-forties, undoubtedly just as beautiful as the day he had first laid eyes on her. 

His heart skipped a beat when he felt a soft hand gently cradling his and bringing it to the curve of her cheek. Her long lashes fluttered to a close as she leaned into his touch, a timid smile tugging her lips.

Cloud trailed two fingers over her temple before grazing the corner of her eyes, wordlessly begging them to open.

“What are you doing?” Aerith giggled under his unexpected touch, as her eyes slit open to glare at him. 

“I missed them.”

His words caught her off guard.

“Cloud?”

Her breath hitched in her throat when his thumb drew an arc over her cheekbone until it reached her lips, grazing them longingly.

“I missed you so much.”

Aerith raised an inquisitive eyebrow, puzzled by the sudden whirlwind of melancholy raging in his misty eyes.

“It’s only been seven hours since we’ve last seen each other, silly.”

“I know. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“...Perfect.”

“Perfect?” She asked, breathless.

“Waking up next to you.” Cloud admitted in a hushed tone.

The flower girl stared into her lover’s face, her mind reeling. She chided herself for getting flustered from such a generic line, despite what had already transpired between them.

She tried to stifle her laugh, failing miserably in the same breath.

“Pfft. One night and you’re suddenly a ladies’ man.” Aerith blurted out, distracting him enough to hide her embarrassment.

“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean”—

Aerith crossed her arms.

“So you didn’t mean it?”

“N-No! I mean…yes, you… are…” Cloud fumbled for words, his whole face showing telltale signs of overheating.

Aerith beamed as she proceeded to pat his head.

“Look at you, you casanova!”

“Hey give it a rest!” Cloud tried to shrug her off from him as she moved to combing through his unruly hair with both hands. 

“You know… I still cannot believe it.” Aerith said, ignoring his protests as she continued to rake her fingers through his surprisingly soft hair. “I thought for sure you used tons of hair wax.”

“Did you seriously expect me to have time to sit through a thirty-minute routine everyday?” Cloud deadpanned, his eyes narrowed at her. 

Aerith finally let go after a while, satisfied with her important discovery.

“Anyway that’s one mystery solved!”

She spun around to crawl towards their tent opening.

“I’ll be back in a minute, I just need to note this down.”

“You’re keeping notes…about me?”

She looked back over her shoulder, her infectious grin still plastered on her glowing face.

“I want to know everything about you.”

Cloud sighed at her confession, the candor of which made him reciprocate her smile.

“I’ll get you another cup of coffee as well.”

Cloud’s eyes shifted towards a forgotten mug placed next to him.

“What’s wrong with this one?”

“It must be cold by now.”

“It’s okay.” He grabbed the steel mug, sampling the cold beverage as Aerith waited with bated breath for his verdict.

Cloud’s eyes widened in surprise when his taste buds registered sweetness he did not expect. He took another sip, which made Aerith exhale in relief. 

With all the changes that had already occured, she was beyond pleased to finally have some familiarity to latch onto.

“Three spoons of sugar, just the way you like it, am I right?”

“But…how did you know?”

“I just assumed. After all, you look like the type of person who pretends to like black because it’s oh-so cool and mature.” Her voice broke into an exaggerated husky tone, mimicking the cool and detached demeanor that Cloud had put on countless times. 

Cloud lowered his head, the content of his cup suddenly having a magnetic hold of his eyes.

“...That obvious?” He scratched his head, still refusing to meet her gaze.

Aerith made her way back inside the tent to sit by his side.

“Nah. I just saw you add sugar when you thought no one was looking.”

“When?”

“A long while ago...”

Cloud furrowed his brow, racking his brain to remember when that could have happened, his serious expression earning him more giggles.

“Just finish it already. The others are waiting.”

Cloud’s mind finally registered the ambient light piercing through the canvas of the tent. To think he had unconsciously attributed the brightness to the Cetra. He was becoming more and more a lovesick idiot. 

“Wait, what time is it?” He motioned to get up.

Aerith puffed up her chest before resting both fists on her hips.

“Time for loverboy to put on some pants and get movin’!” She bellowed out in another impression. 

Cloud groaned.

“Barret?”

Aerith nodded in response.

He had to admit, her mimicking skills had been on point so far but her exact wording made him pause. 

“...Loverboy?”

Much to his dismay, Aerith looked away, hiding her face for a reason he probably didn’t want to know.

“Apparently, they heard us...last night.”

It was probably only due to his mako-enhanced hearing that he was able to make out the last part given how low it had been spoken.

He fell back on the floor, his face more livid than the ghosts they had encountered in the train graveyard. He then noticed that Aerith’s shoulders were trembling, and both hands clasped over her mouth.

“You find this funny?” 

“Your face is.” Her muffled response came in between fits of laughter, her eyes crinkling with mirth at the mortification written all over her boyfriend’s usually stoic features.

She yelped into her hands when she suddenly got hit square in her face by a pillow.

“Hey, what was that for?”

“Payback for earlier.”

Aerith squinted her eyes, matching her attacker’s expression. 

“Oh really?”

Outside the tent and around the now long dead campfire, two figures simultaneously turned towards the source of crazy laughter with concern and confusion. Barret shook his head in disgust, wondering what the hell was wrong with the occupants inside the tent. 

* * *

“Wark wark!”

The group stood at a good distance behind Aerith, who had taken the lead for their current mission, assuring them it was going to be worth it. 

“Wark! Wark! Wark!” 

The four other members of the party kept their eyes on the last surviving Cetra, flailing her arms wildly at the yellow chocobos, who appeared to be equally disturbed by the grand gestures and the high-pitched noises she was making.

“Wark? Waaaark!”

The group exchanged worried glances, wondering what her inhuman squeaks were supposed to convey. In any case, it proved to be ineffective as the birds returned to their grazing tank, putting an end to the one-sided conversation.

“Dangit. You guys are such cheapskates this time around.”

Aerith huffed as she walked back to the group.

Barret nudged Cloud’s shoulder.

“I don’t know what you did back there, but I think you broke her.”

Cloud immediately stormed off towards the incoming Cetra in a bid to hide his ripening complexion.

“W-well, who knows…” Tifa shrugged. “Maybe the Cetra can talk to animals too? Or make them talk. I mean…”

Barret and Tifa slowly turned their heads towards their four-legged companion, who returned their curious stare with one of annoyance, quickly catching on to the idea inside their heads. 

The canine growled before sitting back on his hind legs, preparing himself for his most believable performance yet.

“...Woof.”

“I knew it!” Barret yelled, unbothered by the most unconvincing bark ever made, Tifa’s gasp also seemed to indicate the big oaf wasn’t the only one fooled by the laconic performance. 

They had to be pulling his tail. 

“...We spoke back in Shinra tower when Aerith _wasn’t_ around remember?” Red XIII finally spoke, unsure if he should feel offended or amused.

Barret stroked his chin while studying his furry companion.

“Yeah. But maybe there’s a maximum radius you have to be in for her powers to work.”

Red XIII raised a paw to his nose, shaking his head in disbelief as Barret blathered on about his theory.

“Um, guys?”

The two males followed Tifa’s extended finger towards the chocobo pen, where Aerith and Cloud stood in front of. What followed was an unexpected display, as Aerith began making strange gestures, from one-legged jumps to head wiggles and hip thrusts. It almost looked like...dancing? 

Their jaws became even more unhinged as they watched Cloud become forcefully roped into the act, following Aerith’s peculiar moves with the grace of a ballerina. 

“What in the world?” Barret voiced his disbelief, unable to tear his eyes off from the spectacle.

The dance finally came to a stop with the Cetra planting her fists to her hips in annoyance. Cloud, on the other hand, was slouched over and burying his face into his hands, his humiliation palpable from a distance. 

Aerith swiveled on her heels, her eyes brimming with intent as she abandoned Cloud to return to the group. Everyone took a collective step back as she drew close. 

“Tifa!” Aerith spoke her friend’s name with a deceptively singsong tune, waving her arms. 

Tifa sought her other two companions for support, eyes rifed with panic, only to notice the lengthy distance the traitors had already put away from her. She looked back at the approaching Cetra, then quickly spun around and bolted towards the grassy plains of Gaia like her life depended on it, and it did, as the Cetra instantly gave chase.

“Come on! For the Planet!”

“Leave me alone!”

Barret and Red XIII watched the two women run around like lunatics. They were soon joined by a blanch-faced fake Ex-Soldier.

“Not a word…please.”

Barret's only reassurance was a pat on their leader’s slumped shoulder with his good hand. 

* * *

“There they are.” Aerith said, frantically looking over her shoulder to check on the gysahl greens she had left as bait. With a mental check inside her head, she adjusted herself in the tall grass she was concealed in, together with Tifa. 

Aerith pointed to their targets, a pack of wild chocobo in the distance. Tifa frowned with concern as she gave one last scrutiny to the strip of woven leather she held in her hands. 

“You sure you’ll be okay?” She asked Aerith, who was already hiking up her dress for the task at hand.

While she was admittedly new to chocoback riding in this lifetime, she still remembered the lessons Cloud had instructed her on in the last one. And, as the saying goes, “once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget.” 

Her mind briefly wandered back to the first time she had tried to mount a chocobo and the form fitting buttoned-up dress she had worn that time, which had hindered her movements considerably. She giggled as she recalled her bodyguard’s bright red face when she began unbuttoning her dress. He quickly insisted she rode sidesaddle instead. 

Aerith wondered how he’d react this time around if he saw her now, her pink dress rucked all the way up, shortened to a point of a miniskirt. She had considered riding the chocobo the same as before, but quickly decided against it as there would be no leisure of being assisted this time around. 

“I’ll manage. You?” Aerith replied cheerfully, securing her skirt with a tight knot. 

“We used to ride them back home with my Dad. This will be a walk in the park.”

Both women began to move in the grass, creeping quietly towards the oblivious birds.

Tifa bolted out of her hiding spot as soon as she got close enough to one of them, jumping high in the air and landing directly on its back. She expertly wrapped the reins around its beak, and gently rubbed its neck to calm it down once she securely fastened the contraption.

She turned around to watch her friend do the same, ruffling the feathers of a second chocobo she had managed to get on. Aerith laughed as she tried to keep her balance. 

Tifa whistled as she steered her mount towards her friend.

“Color me impressed.”

Aerith looked up to her friend, a hand still tousling the feathers on her bird’s long neck.

“Speak for yourself.”

Tifa returned the compliment with an imaginary tip of the hat.

“I guess we should head back to the others.”

Aerith nodded.

“Yeah, let’s not keep the men waiting.”

* * *

“So what’s the plan now, leader?” Barret asked as they observed the latest bird to be baited.

Cloud turned towards the former Avalanche leader. “Why am I the leader again?” He questioned out loud, wondering why the hulking man didn’t take the role himself since he seemed to like being in charge.

Barret shushed the shorter man. “Because you’re the country boy here and this oversized dog cannot hunt for his life.” 

“Why am I stuck with you anyway?” Cloud mumbled in response.

Barret scoffed. “Obviously, because we cannot leave you two hormonal teens alone if we want a job done.”

Such a remark would have made Cloud wish for a hole to open up on the ground beneath him to swallow him whole. But after having put on that humiliating display at the chocobo ranch, which to him was the peak of his embarrassment, Barret’s words only elicited a sigh. 

The two men turned back towards the sound of rustling grass, where their four-legged companion appeared. 

“...I don’t understand. Why do they bolt away as soon as I get near?” Red XIII groaned, ashamed at his numerous failed attempts.

“I told you to smile!” said Barret with exasperation.

“...You said I was better off frowning.” Red XIII huffed. 

“Either way you’re scaring those poor birds!”

“Just wait here for now, Red.” Cloud chimed in, agreeing with Barret for once.

“Yeah, watch and learn from the best.” Barret thumped their leader’s back.

“Barret, you’re up.” Cloud declared, flashing the man a thumbs up as he settled his gaze back to the bird who was already halfway through his meal.

Barret stared incredulously at the blond.

“Seriously? Why don’t you go?”

Cloud smirked, his eyes never leaving their target.

“You’re right, this might be too hard for you.”

He slowly motioned to get up, but was shoved back down by the gunman.

“Wipe that condescending look from your face, Spikes. Let me show you how it’s done.” Barret scoffed before making his way towards his unsuspecting prey. With his back turned, Cloud and Red XIII exchanged knowing glances. This was going to be a sight. 

A few minutes later, they were not disappointed.

“Come back here, you stupid chick!” Barret yelled at the top of his lungs, cursing the animal he was pursuing. The bird ran in circles around him when he bent over to catch his breath, as though mocking the human. It took all of Barret’s self-control to not blast the bird into smithereens. He instead tossed another gysahl green in the distance before angrily stomping back towards his companions.

Cloud and Red XIII were trying their best to keep their amusement in check but failed. Barret was not having any of it. 

“Shut your traps!” 

Cloud straightened up, placing a gloved hand on the large man’s shoulder, while using his other one to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.

“You were great out there.” He said snidely. 

Barret shrugged the mercenary’s hand off.

“Laugh while you can! Those birds are evil, I tell ya!” He then thrust a finger to Cloud’s chest. “ _You_ better get this one, this is our last gysahl green.”

“You can count on me.” said Cloud, as he calmly made his way towards the feasting bird.

“Cloud! Wait!” Barret yelled at their retreating leader who just casually waved a hand over his shoulder, not even bothering to look back.

“Jackass…”

Barret and Red XIII watched as the blond unsheathed his sword, planting it into the ground before breaking into a sprint towards the now alerted chocobo. The wild bird tried to dart away at high speed but the mako-enhanced mercenary was still able to leap onto its back. 

Cloud lips tugged into a smug grin, pleased at showcasing the difference in skill when it came to taming chocobos. Now he just needed to secure the reins around his mount’s beak and…

He looked back towards his companions, and his lips immediately flattened when he spotted the leather reins at the end of Barret’s outstretched arm. 

“Oh…”

Cloud was then promptly thrown off, unceremoniously dumped into the ground, his face eating dirt and yellow feathers in his hands as his only souvenir. 

Red XIII pushed away from his hiding spot, and padded over to their failed leader. He sat in silence as Cloud sputtered out grass and dirt and only spoke when Barret joined them. 

“What now?” He asked.

“Let’s head back to the ranch…” Cloud sighed, wondering how much degradation a person could endure in a day. 

As Cloud motioned to get up, they spotted two blurs of yellow from the horizon. He paled when he realized it was Aerith and Tifa, riding towards them with their successful mounts. 

“Hey guys! Run into any trouble?” Aerith cheerfully called out from atop her chocobo as soon as she entered their earshot. 

“O-Of course not !” stuttered Cloud. Unfortunately, the universe wasn’t done in doling out another hit. Perhaps as payback for yesterday night.

“Seems like you’ve run out of greens though.” Tifa said as she steered her chocobo away from the empty discarded bag on the ground. 

“I gotta say, you looked so dazzling out there.” Aerith casually stated as she jumped down next to her bodyguard.

Cloud instantly grimaced.

“How much did you see?”

“Enough to be thoroughly impressed. You were right, Aerith. He never ceases to amaze.” Tifa answered with seriousness but Cloud could hear the mocking laughter in her voice. 

Aerith nudged him with her elbow before he could sulk any further. She jerked her head towards her docile mount.

“Wanna share?” 

“ _Please._ ”

The mercenary walked past the Cetra, clasping the leather reins as he readied himself to mount her chocobo. Aerith, however, snatched the reins back, clicking her tongue in disapproval. 

“Where do you think you’re going, Mister?”

Cloud raised his eyebrows up questioningly.

“You’re riding in the back.”

Cloud let out a despondent sigh.

“Yes, ma’am...”


	11. Chapter 11

Red XIII slowed down as he stared out into the distance, admiring the majestic sight of a phoenix. It nestled against its unhatched offspring, scarlet feathers blending with the hues of the sunset.

The canine eyed the giant bird tending to the egg, feeling envy for the display of parental affection while at the same time, wary for the future hatchling and its kind. The sight made him question the futility of it all, to preserve one species on the brink of extinction in a ruthless world. 

He pondered if the offspring would be grateful for its parent or be resentful for the burden of life? To carve out an existence after leaving the nest, which given the nature of the world, happened far too soon. It was the same heart-wrenching plight his companions had to go through years ago, just as he did.

His ears perked up when he heard approaching footsteps, his honed senses telling him precisely whose light falls it belonged to without moving.

Aerith stopped next to the four-legged companion, following his gaze towards Fort Condor.

“Beautiful...” The Cetra whispered in a hushed tone.

“What is?” Red XIII asked, still keeping his eyes locked on the scenery unfolding before him.

“Life.”

Family. Bonds. Love. Things she held in high regard.

This time, Red XIII turned to her, curious at the hint of melancholy in the Cetra’s voice.

“Now that’s a bit broad, don’t you think?”

Aerith looked down at her friend, a small smile on her lips.

“Really? Every person, animal, plant. There’s so much beauty in life.”

The canine snickered.

“Even Hojo?”

Aerith’s mouth dropped open at the name, and it took a few seconds for her mind to start wheeling again. “I guess not.” She finally said with a giggle. “You got me good there.” 

They shared another laugh before Aerith finally asked the question she had meant to when she noticed the canine lagging behind the group. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yes…” Red XIII muttered after much hesitation. “I was just... contemplating.”

Aerith gathered her skirt before squatting down next to her friend.

“I’m sorry, Nanaki.”

The canine whipped his head to her in shock. It had been forever since he last heard his real name. How had she come upon it? His own question was quickly nullified when he remembered who exactly he was talking to. 

“For what?”

Aerith’s smile faltered, remorse reflected in her eyes.

“For forcing you to give up on the future the Planet showed you when we left Midgar.”

A future where he ended up finding a mate and raising his own cubs.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“The others told me about the visions you had.”

“The future might have changed, it doesn’t mean I can’t still end up finding my own happy ending.” Red XIII replied as he casually stretched his limbs and back.

Aerith stared down at the points of her mud-caked boots.

“Still…”

She was taken aback when the canine shoved his head onto her lap. 

Nanaki knew it might be a long shot. For all he knew, Denneh could be anywhere and nowhere at the same time. Was her survival even assured in this new uncertainty?

One thing he knew for sure though was that he was not the only one with a burden to bear of possibly being the last of their lineage. 

As if being the last Cetra wasn’t enough, the young woman had the fate of the world resting on her shoulders as well. Even moreso with the knowledge she had to grapple with, of her life and what may or may not come. 

Aerith smiled fondly at her dear friend, grateful for the comforting gesture. She buried her face in his mane, giggling when he started to purr like an engine the more she nuzzled against his neck. Canine or feline, he seemed to flit back and forth from the two. 

Red XIII quickly cleared his throat loudly before suggesting catching up with the rest of the group to prepare for the night. A valiant last ditch effort to stop himself from rolling over and ask for a belly rub. 

* * *

_“The once powerful, unstoppable warrior who bested me, now reduced to a shriveled husk of his former glory.” Sephiroth towered above him, yellow lilies crushed under his boots._

_Had he shown up much earlier, Cloud might have tried to put up a fight against his nemesis. However, despite his thirst for revenge in the past, Cloud could barely lift his now rusted fusion sword. Not that he had any desire to do so in the first place._

_“Sorry to disappoint, but my time’s almost up. And so is yours.” Cloud replied coolly._

_Sephiroth arched an eyebrow with puzzled amusement at his archrival who didn’t bother sparing him a glance._

_“What makes you think this time will be any different?” The disgraced hero asked with genuine curiosity, unable to fathom why his rival would be so eager to have his soul absorbed back into the lifestream and his memories merged with the primordial source, ending his existence as Cloud Strife for good._

_He sat beside the dying man whose spirit he had anchored himself to and whose life essence would soon be used to create an entirely new lifeform, unlike the Cetra he still foolishly cherished, having wasted a lifetime in a desperate bid to reunite with her._

_“What was it again? Aerith”_ —

_A hand devoid of warmth and any modicum of strength sprung forth to seize the former general’s wrist in a weak grip._

_“You have no right to speak that name…” Cloud growled with a bitterness still potent in his voice after twenty-three years._

_Sephiroth looked down with half-lidded eyes at the now lanky fingers clutching his wrist as they tried their best to keep their grip._

_“You do realize that unlike you, the soul of the Cetra will never be brought back to the land of the living. For the Planet herself has chosen her to be her last steward for her final journey, thus excluding her soul from ever being reincarnated again.”_

_The former general peeked into his rival’s dimmed eyes which had once been full of unwavering determination, with flames of the infused Mako licking the edge of his past slayer’s irises. It was a powerful emotion exclusively reserved for the silver-haired swordsman, which defined the strength of their twisted bond._

_“As it stands, the two of you will never meet again.”_

_There was silence as Sephiroth waited for the realization to sink in._

_It was a disappointing truth. But it was nothing Cloud hadn’t suspected after a lifetime spent chasing after the fabled Promise Land. It didn’t matter if it couldn’t be reached in the realm of the living or if it had only just been a metaphor the Cetras had used to explain mortality. Perhaps as a way to lessen the anguish of the survivors who had to wade through the rest of their existence before reuniting with their loved ones at the end._

_If this was the Planet’s will, the Planet she had loved so much, then he would accept whatever outcome, no matter what._

_Cloud pulled his hands over his face, palms moist with sweat and grass dew. His voice started out with shaky breaths before breaking into wordless hiccups. The hope that had kept him going until now, being shattered by the one who had robbed him of everything. His mournful sobs echoed in the howling wind, which instead of abating the searing pain in his heart only inflamed it further, exacerbating the hollowness in his soul from being denied his dearest wish one last time. For good._

_“The Planet is willingly heading towards her own end. Can you bear to see it end like this, after all the sacrifices?”_

_Although Sephiroth’s words reached the Cloud’s ears, they didn’t resonate as they should have with his broken spirit. This never-ending war for survival wasn’t his to wage anymore and he would gladly pass the torch to the newer generation, leaving it to them to build upon the small foundation their predecessors had paved for them, himself included._

_“Our Planet is dying Cloud. But I won’t end, nor will I let you end.”_

_Desperately, Cloud grabbed one of the lilies, tearing it from its roots. It was the closest remainder he had of her. The petals crumpled in his grasp as he tried to conjure up memories that would allow him to revisit the intricate details of her face once more, the flowing tresses of auburn silk, the materials of her denim jacket and her flowing dress, anything really to prevent himself from losing her one last time._

_”What would you do if you were given the chance to fix past mistakes? A second chance to strive for a better outcome and do away with your deepest regrets?”_

_Sephiroth’s honeyed words imprinted themselves in Cloud’s ailing brain, the temptation of his offer lodging itself in his thoughts._

_A chance to amend his deepest regret._

_A chance to reunite, flesh and blood, with the one person he had failed to protect._

_Cloud chuckled humorlessly at his own lunacy of it all, as he let one arm fall over his eyes to shield his bloodshot eyes from the blinding sunlight that mocked his suffering. How delusional must he be to be lured by the man he abhorred, that he would promise the life of the woman he had ended in the first place? That he would offer Cloud the opportunity to start over with the woman he loved at his side? Unfettered by shackles of fate and death to forge a different path?_

_Aerith would never forgive him for even considering the words of the Planet’s most dangerous enemy._

_But…there was so much more he could have done for everyone, not just her._

_What if he could have prevented disasters he had been powerless to stop in the past? What if he could have saved Denzel from all the suffering he had experienced from the plate fall?_

_What if they had managed to reach out to Marlene’s biological father, so that Barret never had to watch his friend die again?_

_What if he had managed to sort things out with Tifa? She deserved someone worthy of her instead of waiting around for a childish man to return her feelings. He had tried so hard to make things work for her. But it never did. If things could be different, maybe the two of them could finally be the friends they were always meant to be and save her the heartache._

_Maybe he could even prevent the whole Nibelheim incident from ever happening, save the townspeople, save his beloved mother. Maybe even save Zack._

_Why stop there? He could prevent the tragedies of Corel and Cosmo Canyon, Hojo’s nightmarish experiments on Vincent and others._

_Killing the bastard early enough might even save Aerith’s biological parents as well._

_How far back could he go?_

_It was not for the sake of one person only. It would be striving for the best possible outcome for everyone._

_It was not only about preventing her death. It was not only about needing her in his life. And it certainly was not only about wanting to see her again..._

_Cloud clenched his teeth as he unshielded his eyes to gaze at the clear sky. The sun glared down at him, admonishing him for the decision he was about to make, one Aerith would likely condemn him for._

_“Let us defy destiny together, Cloud.”_

_Cloud knew he could not pass this up. And he would take advantage of the former war hero to achieve his own goal. This time, without getting manipulated or robbed of his free will. He had to make Sephiroth believe they were on the same page._

_The dying blond looked wistfully at the tear-stained pink ribbon adorning his left bicep._

_Heaven forbid what he would do to meet her just once more..._

* * *

Cloud’s eyes snapped open, tears spilling down his cheeks as his mind replayed the remnants of his dream. He clutched a hand to his chest as sat up in his sleeping bag. A sharp, vivid pain still lingering, much to his discomfort.

Cloud cursed under his breath while swallowing another knot that had formed in his throat.

If his dream had been some sort of repressed memory, then it was simply unforgivable.

Cloud was ashamed, but deep down, he couldn’t find it in himself to blame this other self. Not after sampling that unbearable grief he still could not shake off. The pain he had tried to cope with in vain, for twenty-three years without her. The sorrow he had lost himself in when he realized that even in death, he would never see her again.

Cloud shook his head and scanned his surroundings. He was able to quickly spot his companions, all of them still fast asleep around the campfire they had set up. But Aerith was not there.

Cloud felt a sudden panic as his eyes frantically searched for her. He recalled how she had bullied him for his shift of keeping watch, shooing him away to make him get some sleep. She had argued how he needed to relax more and that he had been too uptight since they left Kalm. 

She was not wrong. For Cloud, sleeping outside meant being vulnerable to attacks. And with Aerith’s wellbeing always on the forefront of his mind, he seldom allowed himself to slack off.

Except tonight, for some reason.

Cloud craned his neck to peer behind the campfire, and felt himself deflate with relief when he caught a glimpse of the slender figure he sought for leaning against a fallen tree trunk.

She appeared to be stargazing, completely oblivious to his observation as she kept her head thrown back. 

_Some lookout._

Cloud chuckled to himself as he took a moment to study the distracted girl. He yawned loudly as he suddenly found himself drifting back to sleep. Odd. He had just woken up. 

Sensing something was amiss, Cloud brought a numbed hand to cover his nose in order to block a sweet unfamiliar scent that permeated the air.

He slowly staggered to his feet, looking for the source of the unidentified smell. It wasn’t long before he spotted a small black orb resting next to Aerith’s feet. Pink gas emanating from it. 

Cloud hurriedly crushed it under his boot as soon as he reached it.

As expected, the fog in his head began to clear up immediately and the wind took care of dissipating the residual gas surrounding them. 

Cloud returned his attention to the flower girl who was not stargazing as he had previously thought, but was actually fast asleep. Seeing no visible injuries, he gently tried to shake her awake. He felt some of his tension ebb away when she began to stir. 

The sound of a branch snapping close to a neighbouring tree reverted him back to high alert.

Cloud silently made his way towards the materia container they had placed against the suspicious tree, picking up his sword as he went to investigate. He found the container hatch open. He circled around the large tree, inspecting it carefully, sword ready for an ambush.

He looked up to the dense foliage, trying to peer through the gaps and darkness. 

“Cloud?”

Aerith’s groggy voice called out to him. Then, heavy footfalls followed, drawing Cloud’s attention. 

“Stay back!”

Cloud cursed as he deflected a wave of projectiles with the flat of his sword. He then swiftly turned to block another wave from a different direction. He clenched his jaw as he tried to locate the assailant who seemed to leap from tree to tree in order to confuse him. He had to find them before he could retaliate. He finally spotted them when he jumped in the air to evade another attack. A dark figure dashing towards him to strike as he rotated midair. 

In a feat of superhuman strength, Cloud effortlessly twisted his entire body midair towards his airborne enemy, deflecting their projectiles with his sword as he made his attack, by letting the momentum of his flip ram the flat of his blade against his opponent’s ribcage. The collision sent the attacker plummeting down to the ground.

Cloud landed next to the small figure that was writhing on the ground, clutching their side in audible pain.

Aerith joined her bodyguard to inspect the mysterious attacker. She gasped in recognition, having already seen this person in her dreams. 

She knelt next to the girl who propped herself up on her elbows and knees, trying to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her.

Cloud studied the assailant while Aerith started chanting a healing spell, her hand resting on the back of the young girl. He was surprised to see how young she was. She looked to be a teenager no older than sixteen.

Her manner of dress was simple, a green undershirt underneath a grey hooded jacket, paired with knee-length boots and white shorts. A black bandana was tied around her forehead, pushing back most of her short jet-black hair from her face. She hardly looked the part to be affiliated with Shinra. Still, he had to be cautious. With a hand, he interrupted Aerith’s spell. 

“Aerith.”

The flower girl blinked up at him, a small frown etched on his features.

“It’s okay, she’s a friend.”

She returned her attention back to the wounded girl, passing her glowing hand over the bruised area, mending the injury with her healing magic. The teenager sucked in her breath as the pain began to abate until it disappeared completely. Cautiously, she patted her side where moments ago had hurt unbearably. She inwardly awed at the healing effects, not from the dumb broad, but from the materia she likely used. 

If only her people had access to such materia back in the war, then maybe they could have fared better. Perhaps, they would have even been victorious. 

The teenager sprung back onto her feet and slipped behind the healer’s back, sliding the last kunai she had under the naive woman’s throat.

“Stay back! Or you can kiss Pinky here goodbye!”

Cloud stopped himself before he could take a step forward, taking the threat seriously as his eyes fastened on the sharp blade resting against the jugular of Aerith’s neck. He cursed at himself for the turn of events caused by his carelessness. 

_Should have left her rolling around in the dirt._

He was not going to let any harm come to Aerith. 

Aerith noticed the dangerous glint in her boyfriend’s eye as he slowly slid his right hand over one of the green orbs slotted in his weapon. Panic rose as she felt an uncommon iciness prickle her skin. 

“Cloud, please stop! Yuffie is a friend!”

The teenager’s black eyes widened in confusion, searching the face of her hostage she had dubbed “Pinky” while stalking their group. How could she have known her name?

Yuffie then looked to the blond man who resembled the profile of a Shinra Soldier, his unnerving mako eyes glared back at her. It held the same toxic waste glow she had seen from the men who invaded her country, slaughtering hordes of her own people. 

Yuffie shivered, the rapid drop of temperature sapping at her strength. But her renewed anger kept her steady on her feet. 

“You dumb or what? I swear I’ll kill your friend right here if you try anything funny!”

There was a shuffle behind her, and Yuffie shot a quick glance over her shoulder to confirm it as the rest of the group finally stirred awake. She clicked her tongue as she tried to pull away with her hostage.

The sudden jerk surprised Aerith, who nearly tripped, resulting in a trickle of blood from the small accidental cut. Wincing, Aerith tried to move her face, wanting to reason with the teenager. It was then that she noticed four large icicles hovering above them, ready to strike down the unsuspecting Yuffie. 

The Cetra instantly grabbed the hand holding the kunai against her throat and channeled a spark of lightning through the young girl. A crackle of electricity shot upwards, shattering the icicles aimed at Yuffie. 

Cloud rushed over when the teenage assailant crumpled to the ground. He chanted a healing spell to the small nick on her neck, earning himself mouthed words of gratitude.

He nodded back before returning his focus on their mysterious attacker, whose unconscious body twitched and spasmed from the shock she had been subjected to.

Before he could raise his sword, two hands halted him from delivering a blow.

“She’s just a kid.”

“She could have killed you.”

Aerith held Cloud’s gaze, noticing the turmoil swirling in his mako eyes as she slowly brought his arm down.

“And I’m fine.”

Cloud reluctantly complied with her request to spare their attacker’s life, putting his sword away as he walked back to the campfire to retrieve a rope from their supplies. 

“I’m still tying her up. Better safe than sorry.”

A small smile broke onto Aerith’s face as she knelt beside the unconscious teenager and whispered. 

“Well, you can’t say you didn’t deserve this.”

* * *

Yuffie groaned as she woke up, her whole body feeling like it had been slithered over by the mighty Leviathan itself.

“Finally awake, are we?”

The young ninja groggily looked up to see her former hostage knelt in front of her, a beaming smile plastered on her face. 

“I’m so glad to finally meet you, Yuffie!”

Yuffie tried to stand and push away from the conniving witch in front of her, only to realize for the first time that she was securely fastened to a tree. She tugged and strained from her bindings, trying to worm herself free. She winced in pain as her efforts only seemed to make the rope dig into her flesh more. Escape was out of the question. Even the greatest ninja of Wutai had to know her limits. 

Pinky clasped her hands together.

“Sorry about that, just think of it as a precaution. We don’t mean any harm.”

Yuffie only glared in response. 

“...He insisted.”

A jerk of the thumb from Pinky directed Yuffie to the blond whom she had fought. 

_The Shinra Monster._

Then again, it now was clear he wasn’t the only monster in this little group.

Yuffie returned her attention to the witch she had mistakenly written off as a harmless ditz, the one who had both healed and incapacitated her. She narrowed her eyes at the woman, who only continued to smile unwaveringly. Who knew how many unsuspecting fools had been lured to their doom with that seemingly innocent smile? 

Yuffie inwardly cursed at herself for underestimating the woman, having chosen to wait for her specifically to take over lookout duty to set her plan in motion.

_Should have waited for the big-boobed bimbo instead._

The young ninja sighed in defeat. No matter how hard it was for her to admit it, she had to give it to her old man for predicting her failure. Her overconfidence was really her own worst enemy.

Shaking away her disappointment, Yuffie straightened up against the tree and sniffed disdainfully at Pinky.

“How do you know my name?”

“Well, you see…it’s kind of a long story…”

Yuffie raised an eyebrow seeing her captor get flustered from a simple question. She had expected a grand speech befitting a pawn of Shinra, something more…grandiloquently evil. 

“Before we tell her, I’m curious to hear hers first.” Tifa approached the pair, a hand settled on her hip.

Yuffie stared at the other woman, studying her. It didn’t take long for her eyes to get drawn to the impressive chest the woman possessed. Never in her life had she seen such a humongous pair. Had it been daytime, those puppies could probably cast a shadow over her. 

_First, a conniving witch, now a human succubus. Great._

Yuffie snickered at the thought before sidelonging the big-breasted bimbo in contempt.

“We’re having a serious conversation here. Get lost, Boobs.”

Yuffie yelped in shock when the top part of the tree trunk she was bound to shattered behind her. She peeked up to see a slender arm planted in the bark remnants of a once proud tree. 

Yuffie shuddered in horror as Boobs removed her arm, then crouched in front of her, all while cracking her knuckles for effect. 

“You were saying?”

“W-well…I don’t know your names, so…”

“...So?”

Yuffie gulped as she stared back at the seemingly unhinged woman. It was one weirdo after another in this group, just her luck.

A burst of laughter cut through the tension. Yuffie and Boobies turned to Pinky, who was having a fit. 

“Aerith? Seriously?” Yuffie could see a twitch of displeasure on Boobs’s face. 

Her friend identified as Aerith wiped a tear from her eye.

“Sorry Tifa. But that was just…”

Another laugh escaped her lips.

“Come on!” The woman called Tifa huffed in annoyance, forgetting her tough act.

Aerith only calmed down when familiar footsteps approached them.

“What’s so funny?”

Aerith looked up to her boyfriend standing tall behind her, flanked between their two other male companions. 

“Get this! Yuffie called Tifa”—

“Aerith!”

Aerith smiled sheepishly at her blushing friend, before switching her focus back to their confused captive.

“Sorry about all this. Tifa’s a nice girl, generally speaking.”

Tifa scoffed and turned away with pouting lips.

Yuffie obviously did not think so.

_Right. A nice girl. With enormous breasts and freakish strength despite having supermodel arms._

Aerith continued to speak. “We’re nice people really. I’m sure we can all become friends.”

_This one looks like an airhead but is actually a sadistic witch who won’t hesitate to fry you in an instant._

The spiky blond man crouched down next to the Aerith woman and shrugged.

“Depends on her though.”

_The Shinra Monster himself. A weirdo who cries in his sleep like a baby but can dial up the murder like a freak._

The largest in their group scrutinized the small Wutainese girl with his valid hand stroking his chin.

“She doesn’t seem that dangerous. Nor particularly useful.”

_A mountain of muscles with a gun for an arm. Probably another new experimental Shinra weaponry. With all that brawns, he probably didn’t have much for brains, especially since he couldn’t recognize the greatness right in front of him._

“Hmph. Big talk for a gramps.” Yuffie spat back.

“Why you little”—

“We should still be careful, Aerith. The future as you know it has already changed.” The talking animal chimed in, circling around the young ninja for a closer inspection. His tail whipped Gramps’s shaking fist as a sort of reprimand. 

_A talking dog, cat, whatever. An unholy abomination for sure. This one seemed brighter than the human ones though…_

Aerith sighed at her companions.

“Drop it with the bad guard act already, all of you! Let’s all start over, shall we?”

The four other captors glanced to one another with uncertainty before muttering a collective apology to Aerith.

“Hi Yuffie!” Aerith squeaked with unnecessary cheer. “I’m Aerith. I’m sure you have lots of questions on your mind right now. To put everything in a nutshell, we’re on our way to save the world and we could really use the help of the greatest ninja in the world. Will you come with us?”

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at the woman. One thing was certain, this one was definitely the brains of the operation. She did have a lot of questions, but only three things really mattered for now.

Firstly, someone had finally noticed her greatness, unlike the big oaf. Obviously she must have already heard of her exploits and the name she made for herself. 

Secondly, this Aerith had better fashion sense than the rest. 

Last but not least, the materia she used was god-tier if the spells from earlier were any indication of.

“I do have one question. What kind of materia did you use on me earlier?”

Aerith raised her eyebrows. 

“Materia? I didn’t use any on you.”

Yuffie’s mouth dropped. That kind of magic, _without_ materia?

The young ninja could not believe her luck. Screw the lousy materia she had planned to steal from the group. With Aerith’s magical prowess, restoring Wutai to its former glory would be a cinch.

Yuffie bowed her head to the magical woman in pink. It was a show of utmost respect, but it was also just to hide her excited cackling.

“ _Kukuku…easy pawns_. So what’s our next move, Ane- _san_?”

Cloud sighed.

“...We can hear you, you know?”

And thus, the group grew by the addition of the self-proclaimed jewel of Wutai.


	12. Chapter 12

After two uneventful days of trekking through the dense forest, the group finally reached the end of the wooded maze and found themselves greeted by the fresh briny scent of the ocean, a much welcomed change from the damp mossy smell they had grown accustomed to. 

Aerith inhaled deeply, her lungs taking in the salty breeze that was unlike the pungent stench of mako that permeated the slums she lived in. This unfamiliar scent was surprisingly pleasant, however, the stillness of the sea outstretching beyond the horizon unsettled her deeply. 

Fortunately, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocky cliffs provided enough distraction for her to tune out the eerily quiet atmosphere she had never expected to encounter on her journey through Gaia.

The Cetra came back to her senses when she felt a gloved hand tighten its grip around her own.

“Hey, everything alright?”

She looked back at Cloud and gave him a nod.

“I’m fine. Just surprised at how…calm…the scenery is.”

Cloud broke into a small smile.

“Enjoy it while you can, because this might not last for long.”

Aerith followed her bodyguard’s finger pointed towards Junon, the impressive Shinra military complex of discolored steel, the rust visible in many places that showed a testament to the harsh environment it had to withstand. It was second to Midgar in terms of the bustling man made activity. It was the complete opposite of the soothing atmosphere they had barely gotten the chance to soak in. Aerith readjusted her backpack before taking her boyfriend’s hand once more, hurriedly leading him towards the massive feat of urban engineering towering in front of them. Or more specifically, the shanty town buried underneath, the same set-up she was familiar with back home. 

Yuffie stood in her place, staring at the Shinra compound with disgust, its distinctively oversized artillery cannon still aimed at Wutai after all these years, no doubt waiting for any egregious trace of an excuse to rain hellish destruction on her hometown. She scoffed at the sight before training her eyes back on the couple walking in front of her. Hand in hand.

_No wonder Thunderhead got all kinds of pissed last time._

The young ninja shivered as she recalled the cold sweat that broke on her skin when she saw the quiet fury in those menacing eyes, their murderous glare burning holes through her when she had held Aerith hostage.

Still, she had to admit she was surprised to see the two young adults together like that, especially considering the presence of another woman. Yuffie’s eyes darted over to Tifa beside her. She still had a hard time reconciling the fact that she was a skilled martial artist, given her looks. Her more than ample bosom probably drew a lot of male attention too. Honestly, Yuffie would have wagered Thunderhead to be among them, but apparently, he had different tastes. 

Perhaps the ex-Soldier just had a thing for smaller sizes, in which case she would have to be cautious around him.

Then again, maybe Aerith had her own charms that extended beyond the flesh, such as magic skills Yuffie had experienced firsthand—or _maybe_ the blond was under a spell of hers. 

In any case, Yuffie had to give it to Aerith.

“That’s Ane-san for you.”

Tifa turned to their newest companion and found the latter just staring at her with a hand over her mouth, seemingly deep in thought. She blushed as soon as she realized what exactly the young ninja was staring at so intently. Tifa quickly spun around to cover her chest from view. 

“What are you looking at?”

Yuffie crossed her arms behind her head before walking in front of her flustered companion.

“Just thinking about how even those boobs of yours couldn’t get the job”—

“Yuffie!”

An angry stomp, likely a warning, told the Wutainese how she should probably back off from the sensitive topic with the buxom lady, considering her hostile reaction to the pet name she had given her in their first encounter.

“I mean, you have to admit, you had two serious advant”—

Both women lost their footing when what should have been yet another angry stomp suddenly morphed into a full tremor beneath their feet. An earthquake?

“Come on Tifa.” Yuffie groaned as she dusted herself back up. “It was just… a…” The teenager’s voice trailed off when she looked out towards the sea. The sea was foaming, bubbling rapidly until a large expanse of water turned into a field of white noise. Almost as if the sea was boiling.

“At last it begins.”

Startled, Yuffie turned around to the deep voice behind them and found a towering man garbed in black, the leather of his coat perfectly contrasted by the polished silver of his immaculate shoulder guards. A lustrous mane of matching silver swayed behind the stranger as he started towards them. The ominous crunch of his boots was accompanied by the rhythmic clicking of the prominent belt buckle around his hips, which bore an insignia forever imprinted on Yuffie’s mind, as with every Wutainese worth their salt. 

The young ninja gripped her shuriken. Never would she have expected to encounter the man who single-handedly brought her once proud country to its knees.

“Yuffie! Don’t!”

She ignored Aerith’s ludicrous plea. Squander this chance at revenge? She was not going to let such an opportunity go by without taking it. Eyes narrowed, Yuffie focused on her target, honing her senses at ready for the first opening within striking distance. 

Time seemed to slow down as she watched him walk casually between Barret and Red XIII without any acknowledgement until he was finally close enough for Yuffie. Her fingers twitched around her weapon only to falter when the man shot her a brief glance as he passed her. 

His gaze had only been on her for less than a moment, but those haunting predatory eyes and maniacal smile were enough to paralyze Yuffie on the spot. 

“I see you’re making good progress on your journey as well. Although I still fail to see why you would need this one.”

It took all of Yuffie’s willpower to not buckle down in fear at being mentioned by such a sinister voice. 

“What are you up to, Sephiroth?” Cloud spoke, his voice dangerously sharp as the large katana the man before him wielded. He shuffled Aerith to the far side when the madman stopped near the couple at Cloud’s left side. 

Sephiroth calmly looked at the blond, the ghost of a smile appearing on his lips.

“You look better, Cloud. Have you remembered yet?”

Aerith peered up to Cloud’s face from his side. He seemed unnaturally composed compared to their previous encounters with his nemesis. On the surface, her boyfriend still looked every bit as wary of the madman as he had always been. But underneath that veil of caution, he didn’t seem all that threatened for some inexplicable reason, exuding a strange sense of familiarity with the silver-haired swordsman.

“My offer still stands.”

“I already told you. Never.”

Sephiroth’s lips grew into a tiny smirk as his gaze settled on the couple’s linked hands.

“You seem to have found what you were looking for. But are you really in any position to refuse my help? After your previous debacles?”

Aerith winced as the words triggered a tight grip on her hand.

“This was nothing but the mere beginning.” Sephiroth said smugly before turning back to the water. 

Everyone scrambled back when a colossal creature began to emerge from the bubbling sea. The sapphire blue of its flailing tentacles glowed ominously in the shadow cast over the whole area by its towering frame.

Cloud instinctively unhooked his sword from his back to assume a fighting stance, his mind racing at the terrifying sight in front of him. How was he even supposed to fight against a monster this size?

“What is that thing? What did you do?!” Cloud barked at his nemesis while tightening his grip on his weapon.

“Why don’t you ask your beloved Cetra? Surely the Planet must have already told her.”

Both men turned their attention towards Aerith, Cloud searching her eyes for answers. But the only emotions he could discern were fear and confusion. For the first time in their journey, the Cetra seemed completely lost.

Sephiroth smirked upon seeing the disconcertment on the Cetra’s face before returning his gaze towards the giant creature.

“With the whispers of Fate gone, this right here is now the sole carrier of the Planet’s wish. Weapon.” He chuckled at the name. “Rather uninspired if I must say, unbefitting for a man of Professor Gast’s stature.”

Aerith gasped in recognition, recalling what she had read in the books of the aforementioned professor her mother had gifted her as a child.

The Planet’s last line of defense, created specifically to fight against its greatest threat, Jenova.

But why here and now? Was it here for Sephiroth? Or Shinra’s military complex, no doubt a huge consumer of Mako energy?

It couldn’t be. She had no recollection of ever laying eyes on such a terrifying creature in her previous life. What if it was after something—no, _someone_ else entirely?

The giant monster slowly turned its head to look down, eliciting a collective murmur amongst the group.

“Hm guys? Isn’t it looking at us…?”

Tifa could only acknowledge Barret’s question with a silent nod, her words stuck in her throat.

“Quick! Run back to the forest!”

The whole group decided to heed Red XIII’s sound advice just as the gargantuan monster slowly raised one its oversized tentacles.

Cloud turned on his heels to follow their friends back to the forest area, however he stopped in his tracks when Aerith pulled away from his hand. He cried out her name to break her out of her trancelike state. His calls were all but ignored as Aerith stayed lost in her own mind, begging for answers as to why the Planet’s last line of defense would appear now. Alas her desperate pleas went unanswered, the only response from the Planet consisted of angry indecipherable wails, a sound she had never heard before.

Aerith could barely register her surprise when she found herself being tossed over her boyfriend’s shoulder, who wasted no second after as he sprinted towards the forest like the others.

Unfortunately, no surgical enhancement could grant Cloud the speed to outrun the flailing tentacle which was rapidly crashing down onto them.

Knowing their chances were slim, Cloud kicked the ground with all the strength he could muster to jump to the side. Unsure if it would be enough to get them out of the impact zone, he made the harsh decision to give Aerith an additional chance by throwing her out of the way. 

The added momentum made for a harsh landing as Aerith was sent rolling down the dirt floor. 

Aerith shook her head when she finally came to a stop, weakly calling out for Cloud as she sat up to regain her bearings.

In the distance she saw her bodyguard running towards her.

Her relief was cut short by a beam of energy striking the patch of land between them, cutting through the earth like a hot dagger as it set the surrounding foliage on fire.

Aerith cried out her lover’s name, fearing the worst when she couldn’t make out his silhouette anymore amidst the dancing flames and the billowing smoke.

While she could faintly hear him call out for her over the wall of flames separating them, the lack of visual confirmation rattled her, the uncertainty slowly chipping away at her.

A deafening explosion suddenly resonated in the air, followed by a screeching wail of pain coming from the towering monster as one of its tentacles got torn asunder. Aerith tried to locate the new belligerent source, her ears still ringing from the thundering noise.

In the background, she saw Junon’s signature cannon still smoking from the previous blast, giving itself away as the perpetrator of the recent attack. The Weapon turned its attention towards its new aggressor, engaging the conventional artillery barrage coming out of the harbour’s defensive systems with blasts of its own.

Aerith watched in horror as one of the Weapon’s energy beams split a Shinra military vessel in two, both halves exploding into a ball of inferno.

“You have to give it to the new President. He’s not one to shy away from a fight, unlike his deceased father.”

Sephiroth crouched down next to the Cetra who was still staring at the spectacle unfolding in front of her eyes.

“Changing Fate is no easy task. Who knows what collateral damage you will have to overlook?”

Aerith blinked back tears as she witnessed another tentacle smack a Shinra helicopter into another, both choppers plummeting down to the raging sea down below.

_The same sea where they were supposed to meet a rather reckless but nonetheless sweet teenage girl spending her day with her trusted companion._

A surge of adrenaline brought the Cetra up on her feet, sprinting down towards the coastal town under siege.

* * *

Cloud cried out Aerith’s name once more while shielding himself from the fiery wall cutting him off from her. His eyes darted above the impenetrable curtain of flames in search of a non-existent opening.

Unfortunately, none of his equipped materias were for water, ice or even wind magic. He didn’t even have any for healing either, otherwise he would have just braved through the fire and suffered burns. 

The blond raced back to the rucksack he had previously dropped when he drew his sword. He cursed under his breath as he tried to salvage anything useful from the crushed mess.

His eyes lit up when he found the travelling cloak he had purchased in Kalm.

Cloud hurriedly threw the piece of clothing into one of the puddles of seawater displaced by the Weapon before wrapping himself in the soaked garment to pass through the fires unscathed.

Waiting for him on the other side was none other than Sephiroth, Masamune in hand.

Cloud tried to reach for his own weapon, only to realize he’d forgotten it on the other side in his panic. To his surprise, the former general only pointed his katana towards Junon. The sharp point of his blade guiding him to the one Cloud was desperately seeking.

“Hurry up, Cloud. There’s still time enough for you. Perhaps.”

After everything that had transpired, Cloud knew Sephiroth could never be trusted. 

But he couldn't care less at the moment. 

Cloud bolted towards Junon without hesitation, to chase after the one person he had to protect against all odds. He would never accept a life without her. Not again.

* * *

Aerith nearly stumbled to a halt when she reached the somewhat familiar beach, panting hard to catch her breath as she scanned the surroundings in front of her.

To her dismay, she soon spotted the teenage girl she had seen in dreams swimming towards a panicked dolphin that was her aquatic friend, flailing at him to make him leave for safer waters.

“ _Priscilla!_ ” Aerith shouted, undeterred by the cacophony of explosions drowning her voice out.

She hurriedly removed her boots and made her way down the white sand. She jumped into the waters and swam towards the frightened pair. 

In that moment, a freshly ripped tentacle from the Weapon came crashing down unannounced. The resulting wave washed over the trio, sending the two humans tumbling in the tide. 

Aerith kicked against the water with all her might, trying to stay afloat. She finally broke through the surface and tread for stability. A sudden numbness added to the cold when she spotted her pink ribbon floating in the water. 

Just before she could reach out to it, she heard Priscilla’s struggling voice crying for help, leaving her no time to dwell on personal matters. The Cetra swam towards the drowning girl, grabbing her by the arm to drag to shore. She did her best to keep their heads above water level, against the steady stream of metal beams and scraps raining down them.

It took almost forever for Aerith to finally make it back on land with the young girl. She barely had any strength left as she assessed Priscilla, who was unmoving. Aerith scanned her for a pulse, and fear instantly gripped her when she couldn’t find any. She wiped at her eyes furiously with the back of her hand, shaking her head in denial.

This couldn’t be happening.

The Cetra pinched the girl’s nose while tilting her head back. She then placed her mouth over hers to give her two full breaths of air. There was no response. 

She wouldn’t allow it.

Placing her palms on the girl’s chest, she began pumping, blinking back tears as she did. 

“What happened?” Cloud suddenly knelt down next to the unconscious figure before looking back at Aerith. He wanted to admonish her for her reckless behavior but the anger dissipated upon seeing the distress in her tear-streaked face.

“S-She’s not... breathing...”

Cloud swiftly pushed Aerith away to take over the resuscitation, which had been part of his mandated training, Soldier or not. It wasn’t long before the girl coughed up the fluid in her lungs, much to Aerith’s relief who instantly shifted her attention back to the open sea.

She stood and tried to run back into the water, only for Cloud’s strong hand to stop her.

“Are you crazy?”

“Let me go! I have to find it!”

The couple struggled against one another until an ear-splitting explosion resonated above them, followed by a deluge of burnt monster flesh and ammunition shells of varying size.

They looked up at the immobile Weapon, its remaining tentacles raised up to strike down more of Shinra’s armed forces despite its losing condition.

For a fleeting moment, Cloud thought the nightmare was finally going to be over, inadvertently relaxing his iron grip on Aerith’s wrists, a mistake as the latter seized the opportunity to slip from his grasp.

Cloud regretted his complacency before his attention returned to the giant creature he thought was done for. His eyes widened in horror as he witnessed the creature release a guttural roar before resuming its rampage with renewed ferocity.

Cloud instantly jumped on his feet, grabbed the unconscious teenager, and ran towards the rocky dike standing tall in front of them. He cursed as the ground beneath him started shaking, making him lose his footing. Behind him, he could hear the vicious whipping of tentacles against the Shinra fortress that had been deemed impervious to outside attack, each strike stripping an additional layer of concrete and metal beams, the debris falling on the people stuck below.

Cloud silently implored the superstructure to hold despite its compromised integrity. While doing so, he spotted a blur of red rushing towards him. Wasting no time, he shouted at Red XIII to take care of the teenager. When she was carefully placed in safety, Cloud immediately turned back towards the sea where Aerith had gone back to for some stupid reason.

He dove in the water as soon as he reached it, swimming as fast as he could towards the flower girl who disappeared underwater for several moments before resurfacing.

The blond caught her arm just as she was about to dive back down once more.

“Let me go, Cloud!” She cried. “Please!”

Cloud latched his left arm around her waist before forcefully dragging her back to shore, ignoring her tearful pleas. As soon as he reached the beach, the mercenary threw the Cetra over his shoulder to prevent any more escapes.

Another deafening blast sounded once more above them, prompting them to turn to the Weapon, which finally stopped moving entirely. When the smoke started to clear, it revealed a gaping hole in place of where the monster head used to be.

Before long, the lifeless titan started buckling under its own weight, the resulting tidal wave ramming the couple straight from behind, sending both crashing against the rocky wall.

Red XIII rushed to the edge of the structure, in an effort to rescue the pair, who were soon caught under the water, disappearing from view completely. His ears perked up when he heard sounds of gasping. He followed the sounds to find his friends hanging on the rocks for dear life, struggling against the powerful current threatening to wash them away.

He quickly grabbed the collar of Aerith’s jacket in his mouth, snatching her up as Cloud propped her up. As soon as she was pulled back to safety, Red XIII turned his attention to Cloud to retrieve him as well. 

However before he was about to do so, the battered hull of a Shinra gunboat crashed into Cloud from behind, knocking him out instantly.

Red XIII could only watch with helpless horror as the water whisked their leader away. 

Tifa and Yuffie finally arrived in time to hold the Cetra back as she tried to hurl herself back into the chaotic waters, her desperate screams reverberating in their ears.

Aerith tried to wrestle herself out of their grasp but she was no match for their combined physical strength. It took all her strength to not sink onto her knees as her eyes hungrily scanned the waters for a trace of her lover. But as the seconds trickled into minutes, her hope shattered and hot tears spilled down her cheeks. 

She had caused all this.

All this time, she thought she had a grasp on the whole situation, only for her to mess it up horribly.

All this death and destruction because of her.

She had even lost her birth mother’s memento, and with it the most precious artifact in their quest to save the world.

Aerith finally yanked herself out of her friends’ grip, jumping back onto the beach to search for Cloud in the expanse of scrapped metal and corpses lining the shore.

She gasped as she tripped over an iron panel embedded in the sand, landing painfully on all fours. Her hand clutched at her chest through her drenched dress as a familiar sensation took hold of her.

The same feeling that had haunted her for countless nights. Emotions belonging to a blond man and his suffering. 

But this....this was worse. 

Aerith was no stranger to heartache. Her whole life had been punctuated by several of them. Her mother’s death. Zack Fair. 

But this pain outmatched them all. 

This was all her fault. Had she not foolishly defied Fate, maybe the Planet would have still been on their side. Had she not been reckless, Cloud would be beside her right now.

Her entire frame quivered as she broke into tears, guilt and grief consuming her. 

_Is that how you always felt? I’m sorry, so sorry..._

Yuffie stared down at the broken woman, unsure on how to comfort her...if that was even possible. She silently seeked Tifa for advice, but the apparent loss seemed to have a deep effect on her as well as she just slumped to the ground without a word.

The young ninja vaguely heard Red XIII talk to Barret before the two jumped down onto the beach to join the Cetra who had begun another frantic search for their missing leader. 

Suddenly, the distinct sound of rotor blades could be heard, signalling the approach of Shinra’s search and rescue teams.

The Wutainese looked to Barret and found him gently pulling the flower girl back on her feet, who had been digging through the sand and debris with her bare hands. He was talking to the distraught woman, words that Yuffie could not hear but read on his lips. 

_He’s stronger than that. He’ll be okay. We’ll come back when Shinra’s gone._

This seemed to placate Aerith, who only nodded as she allowed the Avalanche leader to lead her away, Red XIII following close on their heels. 

Yuffie sighed as she focused on the other devastated woman beside her. 

“Come on, Tifa.” She said. “Let’s go.”

She pulled her up on her feet, steadying her by holding onto her waist. Tifa did not say anything, as Yuffie guided her back to the others. Just as well, because the young ninja was still trying to come to terms with what had happened. 

Just two days since she joined the party and everything had gone to shit.


	13. Chapter 13

Yuffie knocked softly on the door to the rundown home of the girl they had saved a few hours ago. She paused before knocking a second time, her frown deepening from the lack of response.

The ninja readjusted the wooden tray she was holding, keeping the warm bowl of fish stew and glass of water from spilling, before cautiously pushing open the door. She peeked inside the darkened room where Aerith was staying. 

The room itself was nothing special, with a few drab furniture pieces that were more rudimentary than decorative. Aerith was noticeably absent but Yuffie still placed the tray on the small desk next to the dimly lit fireplace that cast enough warmth to make the chilly night more bearable.

Her eyes settled on the small figure tucked neatly in bed, a small white plush rabbit clutched in her arms. From what the village chief had told the group, the girl was a thirteen-year old orphan who spent most of her days on the beach, playing with her dolphin friend.

The creaking of the old floorboards caught Yuffie’s attention. She spun around to find Tifa, who approached the desk to pick up a small pink notebook left there. 

The young woman flipped through the pages with an unreadable expression. She read on silently, the turn of her page steadily picking up as she continued. There was a slight twitch in her eyebrows that did not go unnoticed by the young ninja.

After a while, Tifa finally placed the notebook back on the desk, her hand lingering on the cover as she stared out through the only window of the room, to the dark ocean sprawled outside. She then wordlessly stepped out, leaving Yuffie to her heightened curiosity. 

Unable to help herself, the ninja picked up the pink notebook as well.

She furrowed her brows as she scrutinized the written pages of what appeared to be a journal of sorts. Inside were a list of events with varying levels of details about their journey, written by Aerith. The order began with her first meeting with Cloud on a Loveless Street in Sector 1 of Midgar, which was dated merely two weeks ago.

The later entries were more puzzling. They were dated in the future but mentioned things that were supposed to take place, in locations they had not yet set foot in. 

A promise made to fly aboard an airship one day.

A discussion around a bonfire in Cosmo Canyon.

An anticipated date in Gold Saucer, a much needed breather from all the doom and gloom of prior entries.

The last dated entry mentioned some mysterious place called the “Forgotten City” and some prayer involving a white materia.

Under normal circumstances, Yuffie would have focused solely on the materia and pondered on what possibilities it could bring to her country. This time, however, she could not help but be distracted by the contrast in writing of past entries to future events, the former were written with so much emotion and sentimentality, whereas the latter read like a bullet point list of predictions.

Both shared one common trait. The mention of a certain blond Ex-Soldier. 

Yuffie skimmed through to the end, stopping at a page filled with trivial questions, mostly unanswered. She chuckled at one particular note that questioned the blond’s morning hair routine.

_Naturally spiky and fluffy? My ass._

Yuffie sighed as she closed the book. Then, she ran out of the room, making her way towards the beach. The same direction Tifa most likely went. 

* * *

_“...You’re joking, right?”_

_Cloud deadpanned at the flower girl still beaming at him, who seemed proud of herself for having thought of the most…unconventional plan he had ever heard of._

_“So…” The Ex-Soldier sighed. “You want me to climb on that thing…”_

_“Mr. Dolphy. Show a little respect.”_

_Cloud eyes darted between the huffing Cetra to the shy teenage girl they had saved a day prior, Priscilla, who was keen on avoiding any eye contact._

_“...Right. You want me to climb on Mr. Dolphy, and make him jump all the way up to that beam for me to climb on top…Correct?”_

_The mercenary pointed to the aforementioned metal beam standing several meters above them and looked back at Aerith, who just nodded confidently, her grin never leaving her face._

_Cloud sighed once more._

_“Again…you’re joking, right?”_

_Priscilla shyly tugged at Aerith’s sleeve, her ears bright red from Cloud’s blatant lack of enthusiasm, even though it had originally been her suggestion._

_“M-Maybe Mr. Cloud is right…it does sound a bit ridiculous…”_

_Aerith quickly halted their young friend’s doubts._

_“Your plan sounds perfect to me.”_

_The flower girl then slipped behind her bodyguard, resting her hands on his shoulders._

_“And believe it or not, Cloud here is actually an Ex-Soldier First Class! This will be a child's play for him!”_

_“Aerith”_ — _Cloud’s tone began warningly, but this only seemed to amuse Aerith, whose smile turned into a smirk._

_“Unless, you’re saying this would be too hard for you, my dear bodyguard?” She whispered into his ear, giggling inwardly when she felt him stiffen against her, an audible groan escaping his lips._

_“Fine!”_

_Cloud angrily shrugged Aerith off before kicking off his boots to storm off into the sea, wading towards Mr. Dolphy. The long-nosed grey dolphin cackled happily as he swam in small circles, waiting excitedly for his new playmate._

_Priscilla looked worriedly at the Cetra._

_“Maybe it’s not such a good idea after all...?”_

_“Are you kidding? You had the best idea ever!”_

_She kicked her boots off in a similar fashion to her bodyguard, laughing as she dragged the teenager with her to find the best spot to watch Cloud._

_For the better part of the last hour, the pair watched the blond mercenary try his best to root himself on top of the slippery grey mount, cursing profusely at having been roped into such a nonsensical plan._

_Each slip and failure would be met with hearty laughter and cheers from Aerith, soon imitated by Priscilla, who could no longer stifle her own amusement._

_The pair were soon joined by the rest of the group._

_“...What the heck is that idiot doing?” Yuffie voiced everyone’s thoughts out loud._

_Aerith leaned towards the young ninja, keeping her eyes on the spectacle as she replied between fits of laughter._

_“T-Trying to ride Mr. Dolphy.”_

_Tifa looked at the flower girl, unsure if she was hallucinating and hearing things._

_“Ride the dolphin…?”_

_Aerith nodded, giggling some more when Cloud once again lost his grip on the mammal’s dorsal fin and ended up getting tossed around instead._

_Tifa ducked her head, hiding her mouth behind one hand to subdue her reaction, her considerate action was unfollowed by the rest of the group who openly cackled, Barret being the loudest._

_Cloud ceased upon hearing his so-called friends, turning around with the intention of giving them a piece of his mind, only to see Priscilla happily laughing with the rest of the group. The mercenary focused once more on the talkative dolphin instead._

_After another series of failed attempts met with more laughter, Yuffie decided she had enough of the embarrassing display. The young ninja removed her shoes before yelling at their leader._

_“Get lost, Thunderhead! The great Yuffie will show you how it’s done!”_

_She ran towards the Ex-Soldier and his dolphin friend, aborting their latest attempt when she dived into the unsuspecting blond from behind, knocking him down from the dolphin, much to everyone’s amusement._ _  
_

_Aerith walked a few steps in front of her young friend before extending her an inviting hand._

_“Come on, Priscilla! Let’s_ _join them!”_

_Her smile widened with each step the young girl took, entering the water despite the recent sea monster attack undoubtedly still fresh in her mind. Aerith clasped her hands around Priscilla’s before looking at the rest of their friends._

_“You guys too! Come on!”_

_“I think I’ll pass this time.” Barret chuckled, raising his gun arm to emphasize his point._

_“I have to admit, I’m not that fond of the sea either.” Red followed, whipping his flaming tail._

_“Aaww, you’re no fun…What about you, Tifa? You have no excuse!” Aerith looked expectantly at Tifa, who looked away while scratching her cheek._

_“I-I think I’ll pass as”_ —

_A slap on her back interrupted her, making her yelp in surprise._

_“You heard her, no excuse for you, Tifa.” chuckled Barret as he pushed the young woman towards Aerith who wasted no time dragging her, alongside their new teenage friend, towards Cloud and Yuffie, who were taking turns trying to ride the ecstatic Mr. Dolphy._

* * *

Aerith cracked open an eye, her mind slowly returning to her new reality, one far removed from her expectations. Her dream. That was how it was supposed to happen. How their stop in Junon would have played out. 

Aerith listlessly watched as Shinra rescuers ran around on the brightly-lit beach. Several mako-powered lights provided sufficient light to enable them in carrying out their cleaning efforts well into the night.

She continued to observe the morbid scene before her weary eyes, at all the people running around with countless body bags, gathering all of them in an unsettling pile. Aerith gritted her teeth as another bag was added. She felt nausea building back up in the pit of her stomach, feeling a weight of guilt that likely matched the growing count of the departed. 

Her eyes lit up as she spotted an injured man wearing the familiar Soldier uniform being extricated from some rubble, only for her initial excitement to recede when she noticed the wrong hair color.

All the rescuers soon gathered together to report to their superior officers, a group of three Turks members, which included two familiar faces she had not seen since her departure from Midgar. She bit her lower lip when she saw Rude signal to a blonde woman, whom she had never seen before, to turn off the electric generator powering the lights, plunging the beach back into complete darkness, and thus signaling the end of the search and rescue mission.

Aerith saw Reno motion for Rude to come closer before jerking his head in her direction. The two of them soon made their way towards the dark corner she had been standing in for the past few hours to watch the rescue efforts.

She knew she should have left then and there, but she kept scanning through the dark surroundings instead, looking for anything that might have been overlooked.

“Admiring your handiwork? You’ve really done it this time, princess.” Reno said as soon as he got within earshot.

“The higher-ups seem convinced that that monster was some pet of yours. Is that true?” Rude followed, not bothering to sugarcoat his suspicion.

Aerith ignored the inquiry. They could believe whatever they wanted for all she cared. After all, there was little she wanted from the people who tried to murder her friends back in Sector 7.

Seeing that the Cetra wasn’t willing to answer his partner’s question, Reno changed the subject.

“I don’t see that dickhead bodyguard of yours this time around.” 

He crossed his arm behind his head and leaned against the rocky wall next to the young woman. 

“Ditched you after getting some, huh?” Reno scoffed.

“ _Reno._ ”

The red-haired Turk turned back towards his partner. “Isn’t it true though? Those Soldiers are just a bunch of douchebags, all of them. Even got Cissnei out of the game too.”

“You talk too much.”

Reno scanned the beach littered with debris, his gaze stopping at the pile of corpses they had been tasked to retrieve.

“Looking back in hindsight though, she wasn’t wrong to ditch when she did. Maybe we should have as well. Would have saved us from all the shit we’ve been doing lately.”

Rude chuckled a bit, a rarity for the normally stoic man.

“...I’ll give you that one.”

They were suddenly approached by the blonde woman Aerith had seen them with. 

“ _Senpai!_ ”

Reno glared at her.

“Told you to stop calling me that. Makes me feel old.”

The blonde ignored her colleague’s complaint, instead focusing her attention on the silent woman standing next to him. She scrutinized the brunette before clasping a hand to her mouth in recognition.

“Isn’t she”—

“In the flesh.” Reno side-eyed the Cetra before relaxing back into his previous position. “Although I’m starting to think this one’s just a robot or something.”

In all the years they had been keeping tabs on her, this was the first time he had ever seen her being so deathly quiet.

The blonde swiftly put her right hand in her coat to retrieve her handgun, only to be stopped in her tracks by her red-haired superior.

“Woah, easy there, rookie.”

“But, Tseng’s order”—

Reno sighed at their overzealous new recruit. 

“Elena. We’re Turks. Professionals.”

The blonde blinked quizzically.

“I don’t”—

“What’s the mark of a true professional?” Reno interrupted her, a serious glint in his eye.

“Putting the mission”— 

“Wrong!” Reno shot a glance at his partner. “Rude?” 

“Never mix work with your private life.”

Elena glanced back and forth at her seniors.

“I don’t get”— 

Reno grabbed his colleague’s wrist, raising it to her eye level.

“Look at your watch.”

Elena narrowed her eyes to read the small digits on her watch, realizing the time. She suddenly felt all the fatigue that accumulated throughout the hellish day. 

Reno loosened the grip on her weapon and tweaked her nose.

“Come on, let’s go get some afterwork goodies. Of course, our princess here is always welcomed to join.”

The Turk was about to rest a hand on the Cetra’s shoulder when a high pitched yell stopped him.

“Hands off, mop head!”

The three Turks turned their attention towards the owner of the voice, charging towards them. 

Yuffie practically rammed into the redhead, planting her foot firmly against the wall he had been leaning onto before bringing her face closer to his, her eyes narrowed threateningly.

“Nobody is joining you Shinra trash.”

The intimidating act might have had a remote chance to work, had it been pulled off by someone else.

Reno turned to the Cetra.

“...Who’s the fucking squirt?”

Yuffie stomped once more against the wall to get the Turk’s attention back.

“The one who will send you back crying to your Daddy President!”

The young ninja slid three of her concealed shurikens in her left hand with a flick of her wrist.

Reno’s eyes followed the squirt’s hand, the corner of his lips curving up into a smirk. 

“Let me guess.” He looked closely at his aggressor’s outfit and her weapon of choice before meeting her eyes again. “An overconfident barking chihuahua. Wutai, am I right?”

Yuffie grit her teeth at the insult. One too many coming from a Shinra dog.

Sensing the incoming clash, Reno quickly whipped out his electric rod, only for a strong hand to pin his arm down. 

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” Tifa spat, who had crept up stealthily. 

Yuffie pushed back against the wall and tilted her head slightly towards Aerith to address her, all while keeping her eyes on the enemy.

“I say we kill you three right here. What do you think, Ane-san?”

Tifa squeezed the redhead’s arm.

“I actually agree with her for once.” She growled, but then took an involuntary step back when her other arm was pulled by the bald Turk member, whose physical strength surpassed even hers.

She looked at the strange man, who wore his sunglasses at night, trying to fight his death grip. 

“Why are you so aggressive?” Rude asked, his voice ever so stoic.

“You’re seriously asking me why?!”

“We retaliated against your acts of terrorism.”

“Those people were innocent!”

Both Turks had known from the start this operation was unjustifiable. Crushing an entire shanty town, home to thousands, to smoke a few individuals out? Still, they were professionals, known to carry out their jobs to their utmost capacities, no matter what the job entailed.

However, seeing the hurt up close in her eyes, Rude felt a twinge of regret, wishing he could gaze into hers under different circumstances...

“Don’t insult the messenger, lady. We were just doing our jobs.” Reno interjected, saving his partner some slack as he regained Tifa’s attention back.

“...You call that a job?”

Tifa looked at the redhead incredulously as Barret’s words resonated in her mind.

_A good man who serves a great evil is not without sin. He must recognize and accept his complicity. He must open his eyes to the truth—that his corporate masters are profiting from the planet's pain. Only then can he redeem himself._

All this time she had been worried about the people on the other side of the conflict, hoping that they would eventually listen to reason, that maybe further bloodshed could still be avoidable. After all, nobody benefited from a dying Planet.

For the first time, she found herself questioning whether there was even a remote chance for these people to redeem themselves.

Reno scoffed at her.

“Stop acting like you’re all good and innocent here. You”— 

“Don’t compare us to you!” Tifa finally managed to yank her arm free from Rude’s weakened hold.

Reno sighed and shrugged at his despondent fellow Turk.

“Sorry, partner. I guess your chances are pretty shot.”

Amidst the tension, Aerith spoke for the first time.

“Did you find him?”

Everyone turned their attention back towards the Cetra.

“Mr. Ex First Class?” Reno asked.

Aerith nodded in response.

“...We did.” Rude answered, his arm returning limp to his side.

Aerith gave him a few seconds to elaborate but she quickly realized he didn’t plan to. Biting her lower lip, she tried to muster up the courage to ask her most dreaded question.

“How was…how _is_ he?”

“Shouldn’t you know already?” Reno shot back. “Tseng told us Ancients could sense the dead. Even communicate with them.”

As much as Tifa hated his guts, the Turk was right. Even Elmyra had told them a story to that same effect.

“I…” Aerith trailed off, unsure of what to say. Unsure of pretty much everything at that point.

“You didn’t sense any shit? Maybe there’s your answer then.” Reno kicked himself off the wall to straighten up, only for Yuffie to push him back down again.

“Where do you think you’re going? We’re not done here!”

Reno rolled his eyes at the stubborn young ninja.

“You really want to do this, squirt?”

“Of course! Now that we know you have Thunderhead, right Ane-san?”

Aerith silently walked towards the edge of the dike, scanning the debris, looking for a sizable block before descending into the beach.

“Ane-san?” Yuffie’s eyes followed the Cetra who simply walked on without even a glance back.

Reno pushed the young ninja away from him with a snicker. “Looks like you’re not exactly on the same wavelength here.”

The redhead dusted his pants and rearranged the collar of his jacket.

“Come on Elena, drinks on Rude tonight.” He stuffed his hands back into his pockets and made his way towards the elevator to the upper side.

“Wait a sec, senpai! We can’t just leave without the Ancient!” Elena ran after her senior, confused by his sudden retreat.

Rude readjusted his glasses, using the pretense to study Tifa, who seemed to have completely forgotten about him. The Turk reluctantly made his exit, knowing there was nothing he could say to quell her justified hatred of him.

Tifa took a deep breath before storming after the Cetra, who was trying to flip over a large panel of steel, with her metal staff as a lever. A loud thud resonated when she succeeded, causing the gang of small beach crabs to scurry away. Their exodus gradually revealed smaller bits and pieces of machinery hidden underneath.

Aerith rummaged through the rubble for a while, turning her attention towards a neighbouring pile as soon as she was done. However, before she could reach her second scavenging point, she was stopped by a firm hand on her right shoulder.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Tifa asked in a raspy voice, trying her best to keep her tone leveled.

Aerith tried to shrug off her touch.

“I asked you a question!”

Aerith raised her glazed eyes to meet Tifa’s eyes, seething with anger.

“Let me go, Tifa.”

“I’ll think about it after you tell me what’s going on in that head of yours!”

“I need to find it.”

Tifa frowned, her frustration growing with every second wasted not being used for Cloud’s rescue. What was she even looking for in this literal sea of scraps? What could be more important than saving the soulmate she had yearned to be with for so long? The one she had painstakingly observed, noting quirks Tifa herself had never even suspected in all the years she had known the blond?

“Cloud is in Shinra’s hands! We don’t have time for this!”

Aerith just pulled away from her friend’s weakened grip, returning to her scavenging without further explanation.

With everything that had happened, she couldn’t risk telling her friends more than she already had. Not without painting giant targets on their backs for the Planet’s weapons, especially if they were really after her.

Who knew how many of them even existed?

But for all she knew, her mere presence among them was putting her friends and the whole town at the mercy of another attack.

“He deserves better...”

Tifa’s words finally struck a chord that made Aerith pause. 

“Okay, Boobies.” Yuffie joked, hoping to alleviate the tense situation she had been silently observing. She placed a hand on Tifa’s shoulder. 

“You need to calm”— 

“He would have gone right away for you if we hadn’t stalled him when you got captured.” Tifa shot back, brushing aside Yuffie’s attempt to lighten the mood.

Aerith bit her lower lip. Of course she knew that. No matter what, he would always come after her. She looked down at the pendant he had given her just a few days ago, carefully tugging it with her fingers, wishing she could go back to those happier days.

They seemed so far away now...

 _The Planet will always come first_.

Aerith reached under her thick auburn hair to unclasp the lock, removing the chain from her neck. She took one last long look.

This small cherished memento was unfortunately an expendable one, considering the bigger picture. The one she should have lost instead of the invaluable orb of white magic.

Aerith stood up and walked over to Tifa, taking her hand to place her lover’s gift in her palm before forcing her gloved fingers to close around it.

Tifa watched her friend turn around wordlessly to return to her scavenging. 

The feel of the discarded pendant coupled with the sight of her unrecognizable friend made Tifa explode with a white hot rage. 

“ _You don’t deserve him!_ ”

She threw the jewelry at Aerith’s back, the gold chain silently bouncing off the denim jacket. Aerith did not react, simply carrying on with her search. 

In tears, Tifa spun around, sprinting back into the village, leaving Yuffie behind. 

Yuffie picked up the gold chain and pendant. She then closed the distance separating her from the Cetra and crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her back.

“Don’t let it get to you, Ane-san. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.” The ninja offered the pendant back to its original owner.

Aerith risked a brief peek before focusing back on digging in the wet sand, ignoring the offering.

“She’s right.”

Yuffie nudged at her side, before pushing back the pendant in her field of vision.

“I don’t know much about thunderhead, but from the little I’ve seen, I think he would disagree with you.”

“Well he’s not there to contradict me now is he?” Aerith snapped.

Yuffie fell silent, only glancing at the Cetra who had stilled after uttering those words. She had to admit, this girly girl was surprisingly good at hiding her emotions, despite her seemingly outgoing personality.

It took her a few more seconds for Aerith to compose herself again, enough to resume her digging and the conversation in a hushed voice.

“You should go back. Make sure Tifa doesn’t do anything rash.”

Yuffie sighed as she stood up.

“Same applies to you.” She said, dusting sand off her shorts. “I’ll be keeping this for now then.”

Yuffie shoved the necklace in her pocket before walking away, leaving the Cetra to her lonesome.

Aerith rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, cursing inwardly at yet another empty find.

She sat back in the cold sand, scrutinizing the pitch black ocean through her blurry vision for any sign of the familiar pale glow her mother’s materia would usually emit.

She remembered the words her mother had imparted to her, on the day she had gifted Aerith the holy artifact.

Tales of the promise land, a place of supreme happiness, and how that tiny orb would lead her there one day. 

_Supreme happiness._

While she relished the thought of such a place, she had always thought it sounded too good to be true. And yet, unbeknownst to her then, she would eventually find it. 

Had it only been everlasting as well.

Had the white materia been the one to lead her to her promised land? She couldn’t say. 

The one thing she could say for sure right now, was how damn hard it made sure to keep her away from it at the moment.

She wiped her nose with the base of her thumb and resumed her impossible search, hoping against reason the white orb would miraculously turn up. 

* * *

Priscilla cautiously approached the beach, a small bucket filled with sardines in hand. The teenager glanced nervously at the water licking the sole of her beach sandals. She turned around to leave when she noticed a dark silhouette folded against the rocky wall.

With the first rays of sunlight shining through the clear sky, long strands of auburn were revealed, freely swaying in the early morning breeze.

The teenager approached the sleeping figure, her pace picking up when she recognized the familiar colors of her outfit. She squatted down next to the young woman and gently shook her shoulder.

“Miss?”

Aerith yawned loudly as she stirred awake, and instantly regretted her choice when she was blinded by the sunlight. Wincing, she shielded her eyes for a moment until they adjusted to the light.

“What time is it...?” she asked groggily.

“Almost six.”

Aerith inwardly cursed at her lack of sleep. No wonder she felt so tired.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched her arms overhead before sneezing, her brain finally registering the cold air prickling her skin. She zipped up her jacket and propped up her collar, rubbing both arms to be rid of the goosebumps. 

Her eyes instantly widened as she remembered the lost artifact. The Cetra hurriedly jumped back on her feet, her stiff legs protesting at the sudden movement. She groaned as she slid back down, rubbing her cramped up calves to alleviate the pain.

Her gaze then rested on the teenager who looked worriedly at her.

She examined the teenager from head to toe, her expression relaxing upon seeing no signs of injuries. Aerith allowed herself a small smile, the first in what seemed like a long time. 

“I’m glad to see you okay, Priscilla.”

The teenager returned her smile timidly.

“It’s all thanks to you, Miss…”

“Aerith.”

Priscilla reached out to grab one of the older woman’s hands, clasping it with her small hands. She bowed her head down in a show of gratitude.

“Thank you for saving me, Miss Aerith.”

Aerith chuckled. “Just Aerith is enough.” She scanned their surroundings, relieved to see no more bodies strewn in the white stretches of sand in the presence of her young friend.

“So, what brings you here at this hour?”

Priscilla turned back towards the sea.

“I was just going to check up on Mr. Dolphy.”

“Mr. Dolphy?”

The teenager’s eyes darted across the water in search of the animal.

“He’s a grey long-nosed dolphin and my best friend.”

“Those are for him?” Aerith asked, pointing to the bucket the teenager had been carrying. She pinched her nose, the fishy smell proving to be too much for her unprepared self.

“I figured he could use some yummy treats after everything that happened yesterday...” Priscilla’s eyes lit up when she spotted her friend swimming in circles at a distance. The teenager ran up to the shore, only to abruptly stop.

Aerith observed the young girl and frowned when she saw Priscilla instinctively take a step back instead of venturing into the water. She walked up to Priscilla, who tried to throw a sardine at her friend from where she stood, only for her mammal friend to ignore the treat.

“Now don’t be picky. Come closer…” Priscilla pleaded in a shaky voice as she prepared to throw another treat in the dolphin’s direction. 

“Do you usually hand feed him?” Aerith asked at the teen’s side.

“...Yes. We usually spend the whole day playing together.” Priscilla replied as she lobbed a third fish to her friend, who only seemed to regard her curiously.

Aerith's eyes darted from the girl, who looked ready to burst into tears, to Mr. Dolphy cackling noisily. 

Obviously, Aerith was no expert and had no pretense of knowing anything about dolphins in the first place. However Mr. Dolphy’s confusion was clear as day to her, and even more so to the teenage girl who knew him best. 

Aerith studied the girl, watching her facade slowly crumble with every failed attempt at feeding her best friend. The only one she really had.

Aerith couldn’t blame her though, seeing how she had nearly drowned the day before on the exact same beach. It was no small wonder the poor girl would be afraid of ever going back into the open sea after such a traumatic experience. Aerith herself shuddered at the thought, wondering if another one of those horrific monsters was lurking in ambush, ready to pull her down to the deepest, darkest place in all of Gaia after having already taken Cloud away from her.

“Give me your hand.” Aerith commanded in a soft yet authoritative voice.

“Wait! I can’t”— 

Aerith grabbed the teenager’s smaller hand without leaving her much choice and took a hesitant step into the shallow water, pulling the younger girl in behind her.

“It’s okay, just one step at a time.” Aerith tried to reassure both Priscilla and herself. 

Priscilla cried out in panic when the water suddenly reached up to her knees. She burst into tears and latched onto Aerith’s back, finally snapping her out of her trance.

Aerith stopped in her tracks, inwardly berating herself for her inconsiderate pushiness. She should have known better than trying to force her to get over it.

The pair walked back to the sand where the Cetra hugged her young friend, consoling her until she calmed down.

“I-I’m sorry, Miss Aerith…” The flustered teen spoke after a few minutes, pulling out of the comforting embrace.

“Just Aerith. And I should be the one saying sorry.”

“I-I’m such a”— 

“It’s okay to be scared after yesterday.” She flashed the younger girl a reassuring smile.

Priscilla nodded before turning her gaze back towards the dolphin swam in circles, patiently waiting for his playmate to join him like she usually did.

“Say...do you think Mr. Dolphy can jump all the way up there?” Aerith asked, her finger pointing at a protruding metal beam about twenty feet high.

“Oh, Absolutely! That would be a piece of cake for him!” Priscilla replied, some of her cheerful demeanor returning.

“And you can ride on top of Mr. Dolphy right?” Aerith tapped a finger on her temple.

“More or less…?”

“Okay then.”

Aerith stood up with renewed determination.

“Miss Aerith?”

“Really, Aerith is enough.” She insisted as she removed her jacket.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, I need to go up there eventually and I think I just found a way to get there.”

Priscilla’s eyes widened as she finally understood what the older woman meant, and how outrageous it sounded.

“I don’t think this is”— 

“Oh shush! All you gotta do is believe in yourself!” Aerith nodded to herself. “Let me show you!” 

And with that, she made her way back towards the water, slowly at first, her pace picking up the more she thought about her bodyguard and his numerous attempts at riding Mr.Dolphy in their previous lives.

It didn’t take long for her to realize how impossible it was to balance oneself atop the dolphin, let alone when it moved. The ridiculousness of it was worth it however when she heard laughter coming from the beach.

Aerith swam back to the source. “You find that funny?” She asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Without any warning, she grabbed the teenager’s hands and pulled her closer to her, slowly this time.

Unlike her first attempt, Aerith allowed the teenager to get accustomed to the feeling of the sea water brushing against her skin. Once Priscilla’s breathing relaxed, she gradually led her deeper, one step at a time.

“You’re doing great.” She praised her. 

Aerith kept going until Priscilla had to tiptoe to keep her head above the water. Just a few more meters and they would finally reach Mr.Dolphy who was jumping around in excitement at having his usual playmate.

Aerith loosened her grip on the teenager’s hands, prompting Priscilla to look back at the older woman, her eyes silently pleading her to not let go.

Aerith hesitated for a second, pondering her options.

The healing process for this kind of trauma usually took weeks or months, years even. Sometimes even longer…

Who knew how long it would take for Priscilla to fully recover? Who knew if Mr. Dolphy would still be there for her by that time she finally did?

Aerith hesitantly released the scared teenager, hoping this was the best course of action. Her plan seemed to work for a while, until a small wave washed over them, sending Priscilla back into a panicked frenzy as flashes of the previous day replayed in her young mind. She involuntarily swallowed some water and began struggling to keep afloat.

Aerith quickly grabbed hold of her. “Calm down. Just relax...” She murmured softly while rubbing her back.

“I-I’m sorry. I just…” Priscilla replied through hiccups.

Aerith carried her back to shore. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let go.” She set the teenager down on the warm sand and sat next to her, patiently waiting for her to calm down for the second time. Aerith grabbed a seashell lying next to her feet and showed it to the young girl.

“Wanna go hunt for seashells instead?”

* * *

The two girls chatted as they strolled down a part of the beach that had been spared by the destruction, Aerith made sure to scan ahead to prevent her younger friend from making any gruesome discovery.

As they filled their pockets full of seashells and sand glass, a familiar blonde woman in a dark suit approached them. Aerith’s grip on Priscilla’s hand tightened as she eyed Elena cautiously.

Before Aerith could speak, Elena silently handed her a cellphone.

Aerith flashed Priscilla a smile to continue with the shell collecting before putting the device against her ear. 

“ _It’s been a while, Aerith._ ”

“...Tseng.”

“ _The President wants to talk to you._ ”

“Talk huh…” Aerith scoffed.

She heard Tseng’s sigh on the other end.

“ _The President is leaving Junon tomorrow. He expects you to join him before that._ ”

“Why should I?” She growled. Meeting Rufus Shinra was definitely not on her priority list at this moment.

“ _As you surely know, I happen to have a way to convince you._ ”

Aerith paused. Part of her was glad to have confirmation that Cloud did survive. However, she also knew the chief of the Turks well enough to take his thinly-veiled threat seriously. Still, she couldn’t afford to leave without the white materia back in her hands.

She squeezed her eyes shut, inwardly imploring the stern man to grant her a bit more time.

“...Please give me just a few more days.”

“ _Don’t make me use it._ ”

“Just one more”—

Aerith stared at the screen of the phone in shock, the call having ended. She haphazardly placed the phone back in Elena’s outstretched hand.

Elena spared Aerith one last glance before leaving her to ponder her options.

“Meet me by the elevator when you’re ready.”

“Are you okay, Aerith?”

Priscilla’s question startled Aerith out of her thoughts. She looked down at her, her lips instinctively lifting into a forced smile at the concern reflected in her eyes. 

Aerith stared forlornly out to the sea, replaying the events of the last few days inside her head. She felt tears prickle behind her eyes and took a deep breath. No matter how hard she tried to think rationally, flashes of the different people she knew clouded her mind.

Her mother.

Oates and the children from the Leaf House in Sector 5.

Marlene and Betty.

Her friends.

Priscilla, the teenager in front of her.

All these people she wanted to save, to bless with a better life and a future, clashed against memories of her bodyguard.

She needed more time, something she was now out of.

Reluctantly, the Cetra placed her hand over Priscilla’s forehead. She caressed the younger girl’s skin gently, ignoring the latter’s confusion. Then, she swept her hand downwards, closing her eyelids with a feathery touch.

* * *

Out of all the members of the group, it was easy to surmise Red XIII as the one who disliked the ocean the most. The bright sun casting down on his thick fur, the hot sand beneath the pads of his feet, the salty air... Most of all, the water. 

It was probably ingrained in his DNA, developed after centuries of evolution marked in the fiery tail of his proud species. Yet, he often wondered if the ocean was really as bad as his instincts led him to believe, seeing as how even humans seemed to enjoy it so much.

The scene in front of him embodied his musings, as a familiar teenager laughed gaily in the water with her aquatic friend. The sounds of splashing echoing in the otherwise quiet beach. 

A poke on his hide from Yuffie made him focus into the direction she was pointing at.

“There she is.”

The last Cetra was sitting on the dike with her legs dangling over, her loose hair flowing behind her. The setting sun behind her seemed to set her hair aflame, making her appear like an otherworldly creature, one ready to melt with the sun.

The two joined their friend, each taking a place at her side.

“At least someone’s having fun.” Yuffie said as she leaned back on her hands, watching Priscilla latch onto the dolphin’s dorsal fin. 

The dolphin happily carried his friend over a good distance before jumping, launching both in the air. Red XIII observed the human child, awed at her resilience. 

“So, what did you find?” Aerith asked Red XIII, her eyes still fixed to the darkened sea.

“The materia chest”—

“How was it? Were they all”—

“The chest was intact and all materia accounted for.” Red XIII cut off Yuffie’s interruption.

“Thank the gods.” The ninja sighed in relief.

Red XIII brushed off Yuffie’s suspicious remark and continued to report on his and Barret’s findings. 

“We also found your staff.”

“Good.” Aerith replied in a detached manner.

“And the Buster Sword.” He added, hoping this would spark a reaction.

Instead, the Cetra only changed the subject, asking about Barret’s whereabouts. Yuffie jerked a thumb over her shoulder, pointing towards the small cabin the village chief had graciously let them use after saving the village’s youngest inhabitant.

Aerith looked back at the cabin absent-mindedly until Yuffie broke through her thoughts with a shout.

“Glad to see you doing better, kid!”

The Cetra turned back to see Priscilla skip towards them.

“Thank you, Miss..?”

“It’s Yuffie-sama for you.” She puffed her chest out as she began shamelessly promoting her supposed fame. “The greatest ninja in Wutai!” 

Priscilla stifled a giggle at Yuffie’s boasting

She then turned to Red XIII. “I was told you carried me back home yesterday. Thank you for your help, Mister”—

“Red.”

The teenager smiled and bowed her head in gratitude. Then, she looked up and gasped at the dark sky. “I should head back. Thank you for everything, Red. Yuffie-sama.”

She did another quick bow before turning to Aerith. “Miss.” Another small bow and she ran back towards the village. 

Yuffie crossed her arms behind her head. “What a forgetful kid.” She twirled around to face the open sea. “You’d think after spending the whole day, she’d remember your”—

The ninja’s words stopped when she felt slender fingers curl around her own and being pulled down until she was back sitting next to Aerith.

She blinked in question when the Cetra snaked her arms around her two companions’ shoulders, bringing them closer.

Neither Red XIII nor Yuffie dared to break out of the sudden group hug and scrutinized their friend, whose lips parted open and closed a few times, as though reluctant to voice her thoughts. 

“Thank you.” She eventually murmured.

Yuffie furrowed her brows and looked to Red XIII for answers, only to notice him mirroring her expression.

“For what?” Yuffie asked.

Aerith took a shaky breath before shaking her head.

“I just felt like saying it.”

Yuffie playfully bumped her shoulder against Aerith and dropped a familiar golden pendant in her lap.

“Now that you’re feeling better, I think you should have this back.”

Aerith stared at the pendant with fondness, her eyes then wandering towards the young ninja who flashed her a toothy grin. She nodded and forced yet another obligatory smile of hers. Still, for the first time in what felt like forever, she finally knew what course of action to take. 

“Okay then! Time to head back and make up with Boobies before we bust Thunderhead out of there.”

Yuffie helped the flower girl up and started dragging her back to the village.

Behind them, Red XIII scrutinized the Cetra, pondering what was truly going on inside her head.

“Are you coming or what?” Yuffie asked their furry companion, her free hand resting on her hip.

Red XIII slowly stood up, his gaze trained on the Cetra who held it. He sighed before catching up to the two women, hoping against hope Aerith would stop making rash decisions for herself anymore.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! It’s been a while hehehe…I’m sorry for the long delay, real life unfortunately has a knack for getting in the way. I was also unsure of where to go from here and had to think of the events down the line. Probably one of my biggest regrets was being forced to cut out the Junon parade scene, but I honestly couldn’t find a way to work that in without it feeling forced, especially considering the previous chapter. Hopefully Square manages to find a way to keep it in… Huge thanks to all of you reading this and, of course, my wife for her help.

The cold air of the night seeped through Elena’s dark blazer, causing an involuntary shiver. The newest member of the Turks wrapped her arms around herself for warmth before quietly admonishing herself. She had finally been admitted as a Turk, a member of Shinra’s elite force, second only to the very best of Soldier. Not that any Turk would ever concede to that fact. 

Ignoring the cold prickling at her skin, Elena busied herself by smoothing the wrinkles out of her suit and fixing her tie. Now that she was a Turk, she always had to look her best.

A suspicious noise prompted her to draw out her gun and flashlight, pointing both into the direction of the sound. A familiar figure came into full view, walking towards her and the elevator Elena was guarding.

Elena holstered her weapon and pulled back her left sleeve to check the custom made silver watch issued to all Turk operatives.The corner of her lips curved upwards, impressed by her superior’s accuracy in predicting their target’s next move.

“Right on time.” She scanned her surroundings for any trace of unwelcome parties and was pleased to find none. Elena smirked at the sullen Cetra. “And all alone. Just like Tseng said.”

Aerith simply glared at the blonde in response, angry at her, her boss, the company they represented and the impossible dilemma they had put her through. Most of all, she was angry at herself for being so helpless despite the foreknowledge she bore in this second life. 

Knowing there was no point in wasting any more time, Aerith tried to walk past the newest Turk recruit and reach for the elevator control panel behind her.

Elena’s slender arm snaked around the Cetra’s waist. “Not so fast.” She pushed her target back a few feet before moving behind her to conduct a full body search.

Aerith silently complied, raising her arms to facilitate her captor’s task.

A thorough search turned up nothing potentially dangerous save for one lone green materia slotted in one of the Aerith’s bangles. Elena took out a yellow orb of her own and scanned the green orb of magic, revealing it to be a mastered sleep materia.

She looked the Cetra dead in the eye. “Is that how you sneaked out unnoticed?”

Aerith gritted her teeth as the blonde Turk pocketed the only materia she had taken with her to prevent any interference from her friends. The humans had been easy enough, starting with Yuffie. The young ninja had called it a night almost immediately after returning to the shack they were staying in, wanting nothing to do with the brewing drama between the other two women of the group.

Barret, who took on the parental role when needed, had succeeded in talking Tifa out of going after their missing leader by herself. However, this combined with the day spent locating their discarded gear and supplies had taken its toll on him, forcing him to retire to bed not long after Yuffie.

Tifa on the other hand, had been too restless to fall asleep. Although Aerith had expected her to be one of the hardest to deal with, her refusal to face the brunette significantly made things easier for Aerith, enabling her to simply approach the fuming unsuspecting woman from behind and cast her sleep spell.

As she had expected, Red XIII had been impossible to sneak up on unnoticed. His keen hearing warned him of her presence as soon as the door creaked open.

She remembered the initial surprise in his eye when she quickly latched herself around his neck, followed by the sudden realization as his limbs started to slack and his eyelid grew unbearably heavy.

_“You do not have to do this…alone…”_

For all the wisdom he carried, Red XIII was wrong this time.

As dire as their situation was in their previous life, her past self had never wavered from the iron-clad belief that their group would be able to pull through in the end. Someday, they would be able to look back on all the hardships and laugh around a cup of tea or a barbecue party.

This time however, with the Planet siding against them, against _her_ , she did not have the same faith. Not anymore. Still, she held onto the last sliver of hope she had that her actions tonight would at least be able to erase the giant target she had unwillingly painted on her friends’ backs.

“Yes. She’s with me.” Elena replied to her phone as she called down the elevator that would lead the Cetra back into the hands of the people her friends had fought so hard to free her from.

Aerith spared one last half-hearted glance towards the dark ocean, desperate for a timely sign of good fortune she sure could use, just the faintest flash of pale green…

“We’ve already wasted enough time.” Elena said before unceremoniously pushing her captive through the opened doors of the elevator cage. Aerith’s hair flowed freely in the draft of air they pushed through in their ascent. She had left her pink ribbon behind.

* * *

The pair spent the next minutes walking in silence, except for the curt directions given by the blonde Turk.

Several TV station vans sped down the road, likely in preparation for the upcoming Rufus Shinra inauguration parade.

While its purpose was to celebrate a man she didn’t think much of, Aerith would have been hard pressed to deny she would not miss the parade itself, as memories of her friends dressed as infantrymen surged inside her mind.

The two women soon reached a fork in the road where a platoon of Shinra soldiers were having a last minute rehearsal before returning to their barracks.

Aerith’s feet ground to a halt as she watched the group swing their rifles in different directions, trying their hardest to follow their commander’s instructions. Her expression softened upon seeing one out-of-sync soldier clumsily turn the complete opposite direction from his comrades in arms. The ghost of a smile tugged at Aerith’s lips. This stunt predictably earned the unlucky fellow the ire of his superior, same as Cloud had back then, until he pulled off his signature overhead spin which hilariously awed the squad to the point they included the gesture as part of their routine.

A tap on her right shoulder brought the Cetra back from her thoughts. Elena forced her to move again. They continued until they finally reached an open area where dozens of Shinra helicopters and cargo planes were stationed. The most noteworthy was a humongous airship hovering slightly above all of them, with its numerous propellers emitting a loud whir.

Aerith brushed a few strands of hair away from her face to take a better look at the machinery in front of her. The airship she had never gotten the chance to ride on back then.

A prod in her lower back signalled her to make her way towards the flight crew waiting underneath.

It might not have been under the circumstances she had surely wished for back then, but Aerith would finally get that long overdue ride.

* * *

_An unending sea of green as far as the eye could see. An ocean of nothingness he now found himself slowly sinking in._

_Cloud watched as the source of life worked its magic to corrode his corporeal shell and reclaim the materials used to create the individual he was for itself. He calmly observed his pale skin lighting up under his clothes before closing his mako eyes which had dimmed over the years, waiting for his mortal body to be consumed._

_“So this is how the lifestream feels without you.” Cloud murmured._

_Cold and unwelcoming. A foreign substance devoid of her essence. A far cry from the lifestream he remembered fondly. A completely different sensation from his first trip inside the planet twenty-three years ago, when both him and Tifa fell inside the lifestream. A time when_ **_she_ ** _was still there with him._

_Not that it bothered him. He was in fact quite relieved she wasn’t there to witness his dying wish._

_Because as hard as he had tried to convince himself otherwise, he could not deny his heart’s true desire. A selfish one fueled not by a heroic impulse to save others and make things right like it should have been. But an all consuming longing he had staved off for twenty-three long years that he could resist no longer at the twilight of his life._

_To meet her again._

_Consequences be damned._

* * *

Cloud groaned as he cracked open an eye after what felt like an eternity and immediately regretted his decision from the blinding light flooding his vision. 

“Yes. He’s coming to.”

He tried to move his numbed arms and failed, realizing for the first time he was tightly bound to his seat, both wrists and ankles secured with heavy-duty duct tape.

The blond groggily scanned his surroundings, his eyes stopping at a syringe inserted in the crook of his left arm. His gaze followed the tube feeding his arm to an IV drip bag with scribblings he couldn’t decipher. Not that it wasn’t an easy guess.

_Sedatives._

“It should wear off in a few minutes.”

Cloud squinted through the light to make out a familiar tall figure scrutinizing him, his phone still in hand.

“We’ll start right away then.”

The bald man hung up and nodded to a second man whose presence went unnoticed until now.

A coughing fit wracked Cloud’s throat upon being assaulted by the strong stench of tobacco. He blinked rapidly, noticing a flash of red hair wearing a familiar dark suit through his blurry vision.

Reno took another long puff of his cigarette before releasing the inhaled smoke and filling the closed space with a thick veil of smoke, concealing his approach until he was only a few inches away from Cloud.

The redhead reached into the front pocket of his blazer and fished out another stick of cigarette. He placed it between his captive’s lips before promptly lighting it up.

“This one’s on me. No need to thank me.”

Cloud weakly spit out the offending object, missing his intended target as it landed on the Turk’s blazer instead of his face.

Reno sighed as he bent down. “Don’t be like that, pal.” He grabbed Cloud’s jaw and gave it a hard squeeze before jamming down the still lit cigarette between his puckered lips. “We used to work for the same company after all.”

The Turk slammed his other hand under the blond’s chin. “It’s a shame. If you hadn’t gotten yourself involved with our princess, we could have avoided all of this.” He then proceeded to put his prisoner in a headlock, keeping his jaw tightly shut so that the inexperienced smoker choked on the fumes. 

Cloud desperately tried to keep the bile from rising.

“Maybe we could even have been friends.” Reno taunted as he forced him to swallow his own vomit.

The Turk finally released his captive with a sneer.

“What do you say to that?”

“Friends…?” Cloud glared at his torturer. “Congrats on making me puke, asshole.” He spat, this time managing to land his aim on the Turk’s left cheek. 

Reno slowly wiped away the insult on his face with his glove, “Seems like you’re getting better.” He bent down to pick up the discarded cigarette and twirled it in his fingers. Then, without warning, he yanked back Cloud’s hair and extinguished the cigarette into one of his mako-infused eyes, eliciting a scream of pain. 

“You sure you wanna antagonize me?” Reno snarked as he threw the stub away. He took a step back and admired his work, satisfied to have observed the clear signs of the sedative wearing off. Now that physical pain was back on the table, the real work could begin. Reno raised an outstretched palm over his shoulder, waiting for his partner to hand him one of his work tools.

“Who knows, I might take it out on your girl next.” The redhead taunted while slipping on the brass knuckles given to him.

Cloud cracked opened his uninjured eye, a defiant glint of mako still visible. 

“I would already be dead if you had her...” Cloud grunted with a raspy voice.

Reno shrugged in response as he unbuttoned his blazer. “Point. You’re not as dumb as you look after all.” He tossed his coat back to his partner and cracked his knuckles together.

“However you’re wrong on one account.” He stood next to the bound man and flicked his wrist to check the time. He smirked before leaning closer to Cloud’s ear.

“She should already be having a nice chat with the President as we speak.” He whispered.

“You motherfu”— 

The words died in Cloud’s mouth from a strong punch. 

“Let’s put on a good show for the princess shall we?” Reno yelled as he continued pummeling away. Every crack of bone and spray of blood only seemed to push him to do more. 

The redhead barely stopped when he felt a strong grip on his shoulder.

“Careful.”

Reno just shrugged it off, panting. “Relax, Partner... I’m sure Mr. Ex-First Class...can handle this much. Right, buddy?” He wiped his brow with his sleeve before playfully ruffling the blond’s blood-matted hair. 

“Besides…” Reno paused, deftly catching a small bottle Rude tossed to him. “The order was to make it convincing, wasn’t it?” He unscrewed the cap and took a sip before spitting it back out. He looked to his colleague with surprise.

“Scotch? Since when do we drink on the job?”

“Who said it was for you?” Rude scoffed, adjusting his sunglasses.

“Ah, I see. Playing the good host, huh.”

Reno turned back to Cloud. “Can you believe they call this guy Rude?”

Rude let out a quiet snicker, immediately noticed by the redhead who spun back around.

“ _Aha!_ So you did find it funny this time!” 

The bald Turk just cleared his throat, making Reno focus back on their hostage, to whom the humor was lost on.

“Come on man. Don’t be such a stranger. Here, let me help you loosen up.” Reno pulled back the blond’s head and poured down the amber liquid down his bloodied mouth. “Bottoms up!” He cheered while holding the struggling man in place. 

Cloud tried to cough up what he could, trying to fight his body’s reflex to swallow. The pain was blinding, the alcohol burning the open wounds in his mouth and face. It was something few could withstand. So it made Reno’s brows furrow when Cloud began chuckling to himself, his bruised lips tilted into a smirk.

He leaned forward to make out the barely audible sound his captive was mumbling.

“Should let…your…partner…do the punching…” Cloud said through his broken laugh. Then, with a sudden headbutt, hissed. “ _Bitch_.” 

Reno was caught completely off guard by the assault, wiping his bleeding nose with a hearty chuckle. “This right here.” He patted the young man’s jaw vigorously. “This is why I like you Mr. Ex First Class!” He slugged the blond one last time for good measure. “Because you’re making my job so much easier.”

The Turk discarded his brass knuckles and pointed to the nearby table carrying a number of diverse items of their occupation.

“Rude, gimme that.”

Rude reached for a set of pliers and raised an eyebrow.

Reno shook his head, motioning for another tool. He finally nodded when his partner grabbed a heavy mallet placed against the wall.

Rude handed the heavy device to his coworker.

“Make sure you don’t kill him.” He warned. “At least not right away.” 

He watched Reno eye their hostage’s feet. “Should I remove his boots to help you aim better?” The taller man offered.

Reno scoffed. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m damn good at this.” He finally settled on a foot and stood back for the swing. “Okay, Soldier boy. Time for round two.”

* * *

Tseng looked up from his phone when he heard the footsteps echoing down the hall leading to the conference room. The leader of the Turks clasped his hands behind his back and approached the two women heading in his direction.

“Good to see you, Aerith,” He greeted.

She glared at him, prompting him to raise an inquisitive brow.

“I wish I could say the same to you.” She finally said with distaste.

Tseng held her gaze, soaking in the disappointed look in her emerald eyes.

Unbeknownst to her or anyone else, he had often wished they could have met under different circumstances. He quickly scoffed, shaking off his own sentimentality.

He opened the door to the meeting room and ushered their guest inside while silently instructing Elena to remain where she stood and keep guard.

Tseng spared one last glance at the back of the young woman he had developed a soft spot for against his better judgement as she stepped inside the room, the metal door slowly closing behind them. 

She was truly a person too good for this world.

“Welcome Miss Gainsborough. A pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh.” A handsome blond man in a pristine white coat greeted Aerith with princely gallantry.

Fortunately, Aerith knew better than to be deceived by appearances. She slowly lowered herself in the chair pulled for her, her eyes slowly scanning the spacious room and its two other occupants, a burly man clad in green and a voluptuous woman wearing the gaudiest red satin dress she had ever seen.

She looked back to the newly appointed President of the biggest conglomerate on Gaia.

“I wasn’t made aware that the mighty Rufus Shinra needed more than one chaperone to meet with a simple flower girl from the slums.”

The large man sitting at her right shot up from his chair, slamming his hands on the mahogany table.

“Show some respect, Ancient!”

Ancient. That one word she hated more than anything confirmed what she had known all along. How they regarded her and her mother as nothing more than tools to reach their goals.

Rufus raised a hand towards his Head of Public Safety. “Heidegger.” The President stared at his subordinate with his icy cold blue eyes. “What did I say about embarrassing me?”

“But, sir”— 

“ _Sir?_ ”

Heidegger flinched, realizing his slip-up.

“You never learn, do you?” Rufus clicked his tongue. “Tseng. Escort our unruly friend here out.”

Heidegger clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth in anger at being humiliated by his superior.

“This way. Sir.”

The seething man shrugged off the Turk’s gloved hand from his shoulder and spared one last look at the young man who only outranked him by nepotism before storming out of the room.

Rufus sighed as he massaged his temple. “Sorry for my subordinate’s rude behavior. May I interest you in a cup of coffee? Tea?”

This time, the young President turned towards his Head of Weapons Development.

“Scarlet.”

“Yes, _Mr. President_?” Scarlet smiled confidently as she emphasized his title, making sure to remind the young man of the differences between her and the burly idiot who served as her colleague.

Her lips quickly fell when she saw the expectant look in the President’s eyes.

“Well?”

Then, it finally dawned on her.

“You want… _me_ to serve the”— 

“Why do you think I keep you around here for?” Rufus cut her off.

“One might think of another reason. Or two.” Aerith weighed in.

Scarlet snapped her head towards the Ancient who dared mock her, holding her condescending gaze with her own, one rife with the murderous desire to snap her skinny little neck.

A boisterous laugh echoed in the room, the kind neither woman ever expected to hear coming from the man sitting across them.

“You’re so funny, Aerith!” The President ran his hand over his mouth to calm himself down.

“Can I call you Aerith?”

“I’d rather not, Mr President.” Aerith replied, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at his good nature

“Please, Call me Rufus. I insist.”

Aerith studied the smiling man in front of her. It was a deceitful smile. One which had probably lured countless people into a false sense of security before they could even notice the noose tightening around their necks.

“Fine then… Rufus.” She reluctantly gave in.

Rufus turned towards the leader of the Turks, his most trusted collaborator.

“Tseng, your report didn’t mention her delightful sense of humor.”

Tseng stared at the back of the flower girl whom he had kept under his watchful eyes for years, pondering where that snarkiness had sprung from.

“I apologize Mr. President. I shall…amend it.”

Rufus propped his chin up on his fist and spared no censure with his opinion as he snickered. 

“Me, getting my father’s sloppy seconds? Such a funny notion.”

Scarlet rose from her seat in outrage and stomped towards the exit, her face taking on her name, only to stop near the Ancient. 

“You little bitch”— 

Before she could bring her raised palm down on the slum girl, she was restrained by Rufus himself, the new President having surged from his seat to stop her, beating even Tseng’s reflex.

“I’d advise you to tread carefully here, Scarlet.” He whispered in her ear before letting her go.

Having been humiliated enough, the blonde just stormed off, kicking the door open on her way out and not even bothering to close it behind her.

Aerith lingered on the back of the retreating woman before returning to Rufus Shinra who had taken a seat just next to her.

“You’re not going to make many friends with that kind of attitude.” She drily remarked.

Rufus leaned back in his chair with a smirk.

“Those old leeches are just remnants of a bygone era now. Parasites who need to be purged.” He raised a hand and squeezed his thumb and index finger together for emphasis.

“Why not just fire them?”

Aerith could not understand why anyone would keep on those looking for the faintest opportunity to stab you in the back. Surely, there must be more to it than just simply antagonizing them for the fun of it.

“My position unfortunately comes up with its fair share of… _detractors_. Loyalists of the previous administration adverse to change, envious people who only live to see me trip up and seize the chance to overthrow me. The list goes on. Believe it or not, not everyone likes me.”

“I can see that.”

Rufus snickered.

“Well, I just figured I could squeeze some last good value from those old timers. You see, I actually hate letting anything go to waste.”

The shrewd businessman linked his hands together in his lap.

“Let them instigate a takeover for example…and then show the rest of my associates what happens when you go against me.”

For the first time since meeting the cold, manipulative man in front her, Aerith could feel the hair standing on the back of her neck. 

“Anyway, now that the meddlers are out of the way, let us start our negotiations properly, shall we, Aerith?”

“What about him?” Aerith motioned her thumb over to the third occupant of the room silently observing the proceedings. 

“Now, you think I’m arrogant enough to think myself an equal of the last Ancient? Surely, you understand why I would want to keep my trusted bodyguard around.”

The President held his hands up and shook his head in a perfect display of thinly veiled arrogance. Of course that wasn’t true, the man already saw himself atop a pantheon. 

“I summoned you tonight because I’d like to benefit from your assistance.”

“Assistance with what?”

Rufus rested his elbows on his knees and leaned closer.

“Negotiating with the Planet, of course.”

Aerith narrowed her eyes. 

“I’m sure you’ve seen the destruction caused by that monster the other day. I mean, how could anyone have missed that?” He looked straight into her green eyes to drive his point.

The flower girl recoiled, her right hand instinctively twitching to reach for her jacket sleeve before she willed herself not to. No matter how deep those words cut her soul, she knew showing the tiniest shred of weakness was definitely not something she could afford right now.

Rufus looked at the woman hunching forward in front of him, her eyes fixed on an imaginary spot on the wine-colored carpet nestled between his two leather shoes. 

Tseng’s report had said it best, _too kind for her own good_.

He smiled to himself, pleased to see his prey backed against a corner.

“Weapon was it?”

Aerith’s eyes widened, surprised that Rufus Shinra would know something she never expected him to.

The President placed a hand over hers, the cold leather of his fingerless glove making her shudder. “My apologies, did I surprise you? Professor Gast was on Shinra’s payroll after all.” Rufus feigned concern.

Aerith cautiously lifted her head to meet his gaze while brushing off his hand.

“What do you want from me?”

“Simple. Tell the Planet to stop further attacks.”

“Why? Defeat them and your reputation would benefit from it. I thought you hated waste.” Aerith quipped.

Having his own words thrown back drew out an amused smirk from Rufus.

“I’d rather not take any chances.”

“What about that big cannon of yours?”

“That relic of the past? A stationary weapon for a stationary target that wasn’t even finished in time to be of any use before today. Now that is one _gigantic_ waste of resources.” Rufus scoffed. “Anyone could see we were just lucky the Weapon appeared where and when it did.”

“Are you afraid?” Aerith calmly asked.

The last hint of the charming yet disingenuous smile disappeared from the President’s face.

“Afraid is a strong word, Aerith.”

“It seems to be the correct one though.” She stated matter-of-factly.

The President scrutinized the young woman’s eyes, wondering how long she would be able to keep this defiant streak of hers after hearing his next reveal.

“The truth is, our R&D department is on the cusp of developing a new kind of weapon. A bomb, more suited to fight against mobile targets such as those monsters.”

Aerith’s brown creased for a moment before it dawned on her.

“You’re going to use the lifestream…for bombs?”

“Mako is such a versatile resource indeed, just like your people already knew.” Rufus confirmed, admiring the young woman’s inner turmoil in plain sight.

“To be completely honest with you, this new weapon still needs some testing before it can be deployed.” He pursued, relishing the horror settling in those beautiful greens as he confirmed her worst fear.

“It seems we might need the help of dear old Wutai once more.”

Aerith instantly shot up from her seat, dropping any pretense of mental fortitude. 

“You wouldn’t!”

She was instantly pushed back down into her chair by Tseng.

Rufus acknowledged his bodyguard’s good work with a curt nod before pressing on.

“Oh but I do have enough reasons to do so. Proof of Avalanche backing from Wutai. I was even told a certain Wutainese of interest joined a rogue Avalanche cell recently.”

“People won’t believe”— 

“Who do you think owns the media, Aerith?” Rufus interrupted.

The flower girl stared down at her feet, her mind racing from the new influx of horrible information, adding fuel to the never-ending nightmare she had been trapped in for the last couple of days.

“You’re…bluffing...” Her response was pitiful. 

“Well, I do enjoy a nice gamble from time to time.” Rufus smirked as he flashed a coin.

“What about you though? Are you a gambling person yourself, Aerith?” He asked as he passed it between his knuckles.

A few seconds later, Rufus flipped the coin and caught it back before confidently reaching out for the distressed woman’s chin and tilting her face up to meet his gaze. 

“Your answer, _Miss Gainsborough_?”

Aerith peered into the icy blue eyes, which sent a shiver down her spine. It was almost akin to the same alarm and dread she felt from the eyes of a silver-haired madman. The man before her was dangerous. Even more so than she ever imagined when she had dismissed him entirely from the bigger picture.

“I’ll talk…to the Planet...” She reluctantly agreed in a hushed voice. Not that it did any good these days.

“Good.”

Satisfied with her reply and the defeated look in her eyes, Rufus let go of her chin before sinking deeper in his chair and crossing his legs. He had been initially unsure of how much control the woman in front of him could really exert over the Planet’s titans. Tseng’s report had been adamant though, the brunette was no mass murderer. 

“Of course, I’m not asking for this unilaterally. These are negotiations after all. Please, feel free to make your demands.” He replied, momentarily reverting back to his charming demeanor.

Demands. Of course, Aerith had them. That had been the whole point of her agreeing to this meeting in the first place.

“I-I…” Aerith stuttered, her brain scrambling for coherence.

Save her friends. 

“Your demands, _Miss Gainsborough_.” Rufus pressed.

Save Cloud.

“Leave my friends in peace.” She finally declared.

“Reasonable enough. As long as they don’t try anything unfort”— 

“Leave them. _Alone._ ” 

Rufus scoffed but nodded nonetheless. He then raised an eyebrow.

“Is that it?”

That wasn’t it. Before having things turned out the way they did, Aerith had planned to use Shinra’s logistics to help her in her race against the clock to save the world. Without the white material at her disposal though, there was only one way to protect all life dwelling on Gaia she could realistically think of.

“I also want you to bring me to the...an old Sanctuary.”

“Ah. The temple of the Ancients, I presume. Home of the black materia, am I right?” Rufus pretended to ask innocently, his amused smirk betraying his pretense. 

Aerith looked at the man in horror, he was not supposed to know about any of this. 

“Gast was truly a remarkable man. Devoting himself completely to his research, body and soul. It’s really thanks to his efforts that we learned so much from the last full blooded Ancient.”

Rufus snickered.

“Such a cunning man though. Seducing his research subject”— 

There was no way that could have been the truth. Her dear mother had never spoken ill of her absent father after all. In fact, she had never mentioned him at all. Her mother had always been good at hiding her pain behind a smile, a skill her own daughter herself had strived to perfect.

“Mr. President.” Tseng interrupted.

While his loyalty was never in question and he too was complicit in breaking the flower girl’s spirit, it still pained Tseng to see the young woman he and countless others had always admired for her positivity be reduced to clinging to her chair as she learned the identity of her father.

There was no need for that. Not with what was still to come.

“It’s a real shame, what Hojo did to both your parents.” Rufus added, ignoring Tseng’s concern. 

“Yet you still employ him...” Aerith mumbled, trying to fight the tears slipping out of her control.

“As horrible of a person he is, that man is unfortunately our foremost expert in the study of all Ancients, or rather Cetra matters.That includes the black and white materia. We will accompany you to the temple of the Ancients. In exchange, you will give me the black materia.”

“You have no idea what you’re wishing for.” 

“Oh but I do.” Rufus countered. “The ultimate destructive magic. You see, there’s another reason for keeping Hojo around. Besides his study of the Cetra, he also happens to be the most knowledgeable about Jenova.

He spotted the slight twitch in the Cetra’s eyebrow at the mention of the great calamity.

“He has this interesting theory. The reunion. No matter what, Jenova parts would always find a way to congregate back to its main body. If said main body was sent somewhere far away…let’s say...on another planet, full of resources…”

Aerith shook her head at the delusional man in front of her.

“You’re crazy...even more than your father…”

“My father waited so long to find the so-called Promised Land. And now he’s finally where he belongs. I’m not going to bank on a fairytale like the old fool did.” Rufus scoffed. “Now using Jenova without any means to counter it in case something goes awry. Now that would be crazy.”

What was that man even thinking? There was no way she could agree to that.

“I cannot”— 

“What about your friends’ safety?”

“I already agreed to talk to the Planet for you!” Aerith snapped back.

“And I will leave Wutai alone in exchange.”

The words of Don Corneo of all people came back to her. There was no doubt in Rufus Shinra’s mind. His plan was going to come to fruition, no matter what she might try to stop him.

“As for your second demand, I will bring you to the Temple of the Ancients and I will guarantee your friends’ safety in exchange for the black materia. It was also brought to my attention that we recovered someone you might be interested in.”

Tseng remotely brought the large screen resting on the wall behind his boss to life, showing a live feed of another blond man. One familiar to Aerith. 

Aerith’s heart raced, instantly recognizing the hunched down figure of her bodyguard. His ragged breathing was the only indicator that he was indeed alive. Dread soon replaced her initial relief when she took in his shocking state.

She immediately froze when she noticed a certain redhead enter the picture, a long mallet with a bloodied tip swung over his shoulder.

_“Next one up is…this!”_

The sickening crunch she heard when Reno smashed his mallet down on one of Cloud’s feet and the groans of agony made her jolt out of her chair. 

_“Come on man! Let’s hear that sexy voice of yours some more!”_

Now realising what was going on, Aerith could only imagine what other torment they had subjected her lover to.

“You promised to leave my friends out of this!” Aerith panicked as she watched Reno raise his weapon once more, readying himself for another strike.

“I agreed to guarantee your friends’ safety. The report I got suggested something more going on between you and this man.”

The man had an ace in his sleeve, one she wouldn’t be able to bounce back from. And he knew it. 

Another crunch resonated through the room, making her jump.

“It was quite fortuitous to get a hold of this bargaining chip. But I would have been a fool not to seize this opportunity, don’t you agree?”

“What more do you want from me?” Aerith yelled back through the tears.

“The white materia, of course.”

“It wouldn’t be of any use to the likes of you!”

“I’m sure it will. As insurance if nothing else.”

“I don’t have it!” Aerith cried out the truth. An answer the other party would not take. 

“The report did mention you’d need more convincing.” Rufus calmly replied, his expression unfazed by the horrific noise made by Reno’s mallet.

“I d-don’t have it, I-I s-swear!” Aerith blurted out through her hiccups.

Rufus sighed with resignation before signaling Tseng who held out his phone for him to utter only two simple words.

“Keep going.”

_“With pleasure, boss."_

Aerith desperately tried to tune out the horrible sight and sound, squeezing her eyes shut while covering her ears. 

“Stop!”

“Tell me where it is then.” Rufus demanded.

“I don’t know!”

_“What’s up with that look, huh? You want more? I’ll give you more Soldier boy!”_

_“Reno, wait!”_

Aerith opened her eyes to the sound of Rude’s alarmed voice just in time to see the redhead swing the mallet one more time, only this time for it to connect with her lover’s temple.

The screen faded to black when Rude dropped the camera to rush to his partner’s side.

_“You overdid it.”_

_“Don’t worry. Just a few potions and he’ll be ready to go for another round.”_

“Tseng… Please… Make them stop...” Aerith’s voice cracked as she appealed to the leader of the Turks through her sobs, hoping the man she had been acquainted with for so long would find it in him to help her.

“I don’t have the white materia… I swear…” She managed through the thick of her breath.

Tseng looked down at the sobbing woman, his usual cold stare betraying the faintest trace of remorse. As the leader of the Turks, it was his job to stay professional at all times. But seeing the ever so strong-willed Cetra reduced to begging him of all people… 

“She’s telling the truth.”

Rufus’ met his stare, noting the conviction in his bodyguard’s words. It was all the confirmation the conglomerate President needed to make his next call.

“...Tell Professor Hojo he can pick up his sample.”

The name immediately sent Aerith into another panic. After all that had happened, she didn’t think it could get any worse and yet, somehow, it was about to.

“Are you sure, boss?” Tseng hesitated. To send the boy back into the hands of that crazed scientist was tantamount to a fate worse than what he would wish upon his own worst enemy.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Rufus replied authoritatively.

Tseng looked back at the young flower girl whose tear streaked face turned towards him, her quivering lips silently begging him to go against this order. It was a look that did not suit her. Not then with Zack Fair’s disappearance and not in the present. The thought of betraying the President briefly flashed his mind. For a fleeting second, before he steeled himself back into his resolve.

“As you wish, boss.” 

Hearing this, Aerith lunged from her seat, only for her attempt on the President’s well-being to be cut short by Tseng, the latter pinning her down on the floor before she could reach her target.

“Don’t force me to do this!” The Turk yelled, squeezing the back of her neck with his knee while twisting her left arm. He pressed the cold steel of his gun barrel against her temple to let her know he meant business, and he silently prayed the Cetra wouldn’t force him to do something that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

Aerith continued to thrash around with her free arm and eventually caught the wrist holding the firearm. 

Tseng would have shot her then and there without hesitation. But in that moment, images of the woman lovingly tending to her flowers inside a decrepit church illuminated inside his wavering head, and his own distraction was enough time for Aerith to scorch the sleeve of his suit, followed by the skin of his wrist. 

Tseng drew back in pain, releasing the vengeful Cetra, who scrambled back on her legs. Her focus returned to the man she had mistakenly written off as someone of no consequence in her mission. 

Rufus drew out his signature shotgun and without any hesitation fired a shot at the woman. However, an invisible barrier ricocheted his bullets back to him, one managing to knock his weapon out of his hands.

Aerith leaped forward and latched herself onto the man.

She had been naive going in with these so-called negotiations, yes. But she hadn’t been that stupid enough to head into Shinra’s den without any assurance.

“I was wrong. You’re just as dangerous as him.”

The man needed to be stopped. By any means necessary.

“You leave me no choice…" She muttered under her breath.

She clasped both hands around the president’s head, a green glow emanating from them.

Whatever she was trying to do, Rufus had no intention to find out. He kneed Aerith in her stomach before throwing her over his shoulder.

He wiped his sleeve against his sweaty brow as he looked down at the frail looking flower girl writhing on the floor.

“You know what else was written in Tseng’s report? Too kind and good natured to kill anyone, even when required.” 

Rufus bent down to retrieve his shotgun.

“You’re too naive, Miss...”

His eyes widened in realization that something was amiss.

The name was on the tip of his tongue, and yet, try as he could, it eluded him.

Two slender arms snaked from behind to put him into a headlock, sending the usual calm and collected President into an uncharacteristic panic.

“Stop it! Get off me!” He yelled as he tried his best to shake off the Cetra whose hands began to exhibit the same glow from earlier, tendrils of green light dancing around them before dissolving into thin air.

The metal door burst open as Elena rushed in, gun in hand.

“Mr President!” Elena instantly took aim at the flower girl who held on to the Shinra President as though her life depended on it, making it impossible to take a clear shot without endangering her employer’s life. 

Tseng lurched forward, effectively tackling down the Cetra away from the president, who slowly slumped to the floor and was suddenly very still. 

Elena ran forward to help him up.

“Mr. President! Are you okay?” She asked.

Rufus opened his eyes, but they seemed to stare into nothingness. 

“Mr. President?” She gently shook him to bring him out of his daze. 

Rufus finally looked at her with acknowledgement. But there was also confusion. 

“President?...Me?” He asked. He looked around, his mind trying its hardest to make sense of the scene around him. “I…what happened?”

Tseng turned his attention back towards the Cetra under him, his knees pinning down both arms to the ground for insurance.

“What did you do?” He barked, using his good hand to press his gun down on the brunette’s forehead. “Aerith!”

Suddenly, there was a deafening screech, and all four occupants of the room went still. 

It was a foreign yet strangely familiar sound that wreaked fear.

Aerith closed her eyes as she waited for what was to come. Another encounter she sincerely wished could have been avoided.

The Highwind alarm system blared, confirming Tseng’s suspicion, one he could not—did not want to believe. Especially not coming from the gentle soul underneath him.

“Aerith… Did you really…?”

A gigantic claw eviscerated the metal hull above them, revealing a glowing red orb staring down menacingly at the group.

Aerith slowly opened her eyes, her breath hitching in her throat when the red orb moved to fix on her in particular, her whole body going limp despite her mind screaming for her to run. 

But amidst the fear plaguing her mind, one beacon of clarity recognized this was an invaluable opportunity she needed to seize. The chance she needed to finally put Shinra out of the picture.

The Cetra let out a dry laugh before looking up into Tseng’s panicked face.

“Tell me, Tseng…do you gamble?


End file.
